Missouri voters will decide a number of statewide and local races in Tuesday’s primary election. County clerks across mid-Missouri are watching turnout closely. Boone County Clerk Brianna Lennon said as of Tuesday morning voter turnout had been steady.
“We're averaging about 1,500 voters an hour. So we may end up just shy of our expectations of about 25 to 30%, but people are definitely turning out,” she said.
Lennon said average voter turnout for a Boone County primary is 20-30%.
“For August of 2022, our voter turnout was just shy of 24% and then in August 2020 — which admittedly was also a very chaotic year because of Covid — we had almost 29%,” Lennon said.
“So somewhere in that range is pretty normal, but we've also seen it as low as 15% in the past. We'll probably still hit about 20%, it's just a little bit slower than I think we were expecting.”
Boone County has 43 polling locations which, like all polls in the state, are open until 7 p.m. Voters are assigned a polling place and can find their location at showmeboone.com/clerk. There are also three central polls where anyone can vote — the Boone County Government Center, Friendship Baptist Church and Woodcrest Chapel.
Lennon said they are “getting by” as far as staffing the 43 polling locations.
“I am nervous about November and the number of polls that will be able to staff, given how difficult it has been to staff just these 43,” Lennon said.
Voter “homework”
Missouri voters must show a photo ID at the polls to receive a ballot. Missourians without photo ID can still vote with a provisional ballot that is processed and verified after election day.
Voters can check the status of their registration, find their polling place, and view a sample ballot at the Missouri Secretary of State website or by contacting their local county clerk.
Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer says voters who do their homework have a smoother time at the polls.
“There's a lot of candidates on there, and there's a lot of the amendments are on there,” Korsmeyer said. “So, helps them if they research before they go and they kind of got an idea. Otherwise, getting in there, trying to figure out all the candidates and everything's pretty difficult.”
Korsmeyer told KBIA it was “very busy” at the 29 polling places across Cole County Tuesday morning. Election staff juggled a few minor technical issues but by 10 a.m. they were resolved.
Along with primary elections for statewide races — a number of communities will decide local contests across mid-Missouri. Adair County Clerk Sandra Collop said that’s led to higher turnout.
“For our sheriff, that's a big race this time and our first district commissioner. So those two will be decided today and I think that's a big driving force right there,” she said.
Collop said Adair County officials are hoping to see 30-35% voter turnout across the county’s eight polling places.
