And in 2009 it went poof again. There's more that the Presidential election. I think WNY was around 30%.
I doubt it was that high here, and my city deliberately holds its major office elections on even years. Unless there is a need for a local ballot initiative, the elections are typically the aldermen and school board members, as it was this year.
As such, I don't see that as a challenge for the nation as a whole. I see that as a challenge for those of us that are city residents to assess what we can do to get more of our citizenry involved in the elections of people that could very well impact our day-to-day lives more than the president does.