By KIT SLACK
Only 305 residents came out and voted at the Hyattsville Municipal Building on the rainy election day of May 13, 2025.
Fortunately, another 1,874 residents voted by mail, and 33 came to a special early voting day in West Hyattsville — totaling 2,212, about 19% of registered voters.
Voters chose five candidates to serve for the next four years on the city council, one for each ward. Each ward also has another council member who will be up for election in two years.
The closest race was in Ward 5, which saw its highest turnout since 2017, the most recent year for which the city publicizes turnout data. Kelson Nisbett won with 145 votes, with Michael Angeloni (114 votes) and Daniel Amador Renard (94 votes) hard on his heels. Those 354 total Ward 5 votes mean 18% of voters registered in Ward 5 participated in the election.
In 2017, only 133 voters came out in Ward 5, and in 2019, only 122. In 2021, the first year the city mailed a ballot to every voter, turnout nearly doubled in Ward 5 to 343.
This year, Ward 2 had the highest turnout (741 voters, nearly 27% of registered Ward 2 voters) and another close race. There, 387 residents cast ballots for incumbent Emily Strab, and 352 for Lisbeth Melendez Rivera.
In Ward 1, Greg Barnes won by a wide margin with 21% of registered voters turning up: 314 residents voted for Barnes, compared to 196 for Stuart Eisenberg and 80 for Scott Wilson.
In Ward 3, residents chose Gopi Dhokai (258 votes) over J. Clements Jr. (150 votes), with 17% of registered voters turning in a ballot.
Edouard Haba (Ward 4), who has sat on the council since 2013, ran unopposed. Nonetheless, 110 residents came out to vote their confidence in him.
Back in the 2021 election — the first vote-by-mail election — 3,222 residents turned in ballots, 28% of registered voters. That year, however, 16 candidates were competing for seven seats, likely drawing in more voters through their combined personal networks and campaigning.
In 2023, only 1,636 residents voted, about 14% of registered voters. That year all but one race was uncontested, and there were only seven candidates on city ballots.
The 2025 turnout, with 2,212 voters participating, falls in the middle between 2021 and 2023. So does the number of candidates who competed for the five seats this year — 11.
