Turnout numbers for Metro General Elections going back almost 60 years reveal an unflattering truth about Nashville voters: We suck.

It’s not that we routinely elect bad candidates. In fact, compared with the rest of Tennessee, our officeholders tend to be measures of magnitude superior. (Even a casual acquaintance with the General Assembly will confirm that.)

It’s that, generally speaking, voters don’t vote. We stay away from the polls by the tens of thousands, as if marking a ballot required the same prep as a colonoscopy.

Consider this: In the last general election four years ago, fewer than one in four registered Metro voters bothered to make their voices heard, 23.6%. And it’s been even worse twice in the past 20 years: 19.7% in 2011; and 18.3% in 2003.

The first few elections after Metro consolidation went pretty well, with almost 60% voting in 1966. But the percentage hasn’t been above 50 since 1987, when a contentious referendum on legalized horse racing pushed the turnout to 55.5%.

I think about this as I look at the task facing voters for the Aug. 3 election. The lineups for the 35 district council seats are not overwhelming in total numbers, with most including only two or three candidates. (District 1 has 5, the most crowded field.) The other races include 19 incumbents, nine of whom are unopposed.

But an informed vote for mayor calls for sifting among a baker’s dozen of wannabes of widely varying bona fides, a free-for-all encouraged by the fact that the incumbent, John Cooper, found it judicious not to run for reelection. And 21 more hopefuls are competing for the five at-large council seats, including two incumbents.

The top race always gets the most attention, and that’s where I’ve focused most of my attention so far. I’ve read interviews with the mayoral candidates who have submitted to them and responses to a Tennessean questionnaire, and found lots of lip service paid to notions like “vision” and “affordable,” “community” and “growth,” “opportunity” and “dreams.” “Experience” is big, too, even among those who, when it comes to helping govern a city, have none.

(Note: I’m not a big fan of the “run government like a business” argument. They’re not the same thing. Nor is balancing the family budget a viable model for providing public services.)

I’ve also read analyses of the race by several media commentators, including one, a former Nashville Scene editor, offering her inside assessment from Bangkok, and another, writing for The Tennessee Lookout, whose qualifications rest partly on having been married to a mayor. (The marriage survives, the mayoralty did not.)

As a result, I’ve ruled out most of the field for one reason or another, including length of Nashville residency (five years ain’t enough); political party affiliation (it’s a “nonpartisan” race, but come on, we know); and viability (no money and no name recognition are not positives). I encourage you to develop your own criteria, which may differ from mine, though they shouldn’t.

But I haven’t narrowed the field to one. Fortunately, there will be 20 or so forums or debates featuring mayoral candidates between now and the election, providing plenty of opportunities for foot-in-mouth episodes. I’m a fan of those instances, since they help cull the herd. Political Darwinism.

As for my own council race, there are two lawyers and an urban planner. My informal survey of neighborhood yard signs seems to indicate a favorite. I’m not sure he will be mine, but it’s possible.

The at-large races are a different matter. I’ll take a close look at the incumbents to see, among other things, how they voted on the stadium deal and the 34% tax increase from a couple of years ago. And I’ll hope that enough of the others say something outrageous, or stupid, to simplify the process. Announcing a MAGA affinity, for example, would seal the deal for me.

I’ll eventually get around to the race for vice mayor, which has two candidates, one an incumbent, the other a two-term council member. I don’t know how I’ll decide, but I will. And I will definitely vote.

Speaking of which: A recent Vanderbilt poll found 56% of Nashville residents think the city is headed in the wrong direction. If you’re one of them, and you don’t vote, kindly shut the #%*& up.

Joe Rogers is a former writer for The Tennessean and editor for The New York Times. He is retired and living in Nashville.