Each precinct in area to have touchscreen voting machine

A new method for voting will be on hand at area polling places Tuesday to make sure disabled voters can vote easily and in privacy.

Most voters, area county clerks said, will see no change in the way ballots have been cast in recent years. But the new machines, mandated by the Help America Vote Act, could be the wave of the future.

"Every precinct, this particular year, is required to have at least one," Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said. And some jurisdictions have switched entirely to electronic means of recording votes.

Cape Girardeau, Perry, Scott and Bollinger counties all report they will be using one per precinct in Tuesday's primary. The elections in each county will be dominated by local races and issues, with the contested primaries in many instances deciding who will become the new officeholder.

There is only one hotly contested statewide primary, for the Republican nomination for state auditor, but that race has done little to capture the attention of most voters.

With no voter registration by party, voters choose a party as they enter the polls, giving every voter a chance to make a selection in races where there will be no November opposition.

The new computerized voting terminals include a touchscreen, capable of magnifying voter choices for the visually impaired. They are also equipped with headphones to read ballot choices so voters can make selections on a numeric keypad.

One of the machines, which cost $5,000 each, will be in place in each voting location.

Each machine will record votes on a paper tape as well as electronically, Miller said, allowing for a verification of the machine's ballots in case a close contest requires a recount.

Whether the machines will get much of a workout depends on how many voters turn up to cast ballots, Miller said. And he suspects that activity on the new machines will be low.

"If we get a 30 percent turnout of the 48,000 registered voters, it will be pretty good," Miller said.

In 2002, about 11,000 voters cast ballots in the primary in Cape Girardeau County. In 2004, with a hotly contested battle for governor in the Democratic primary and a ballot issue banning gay marriage, more than 16,000 voters showed up at the polls.

On Tuesday, Republican voters will chose the next clerk. Miller, a Democrat, is retiring after 28 years on the job and no Democrat filed to take his place. The new clerk will either be Jackson Mayor Paul Sander or Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau sales director Kara Clark.

That race, which has concluded with a newspaper, radio and television ad blitz, along with Proposition 1, the countywide sales-tax measure for roads and law enforcement, should be the big draw Tuesday, Miller said.

GOP voters will also be selecting a candidate for presiding commissioner between incumbent officeholder Gerald Jones and political newcomer Tom Farrow.

Statewide, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan is predicting a voter turnout of approximately 26 percent, or just over 1 million votes. Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor expects a considerably higher turnout, as voters there must choose in a four-way race for presiding commissioner on the Republican ballot.

Incumbent Thomas Sutterer is stepping down, and the Republican nominee will face no opposition in November. The other primary contest, between incumbent Recorder of Deeds Sue Oster and Jackie Wengert, will also decide the officeholder as no Democrat filed for the post in the GOP-dominated county.

"It is an open seat, so that has been the hottest race," Taylor said.

A 40 percent turnout in Perry County would be comparable to 2004, when 4,600 voters cast ballots in the primary.

In Scott County, where Democrats have control of county offices, hard-fought primary races for presiding commissioner and associate circuit judge will determine who will take the office.

Clerk Rita Milam said she didn't want to predict turnout. The 2004 primary brought 9,400 voters out in 2004, but only 5,600 voters cast ballots in 2002.

"It is just really hard to say," she said. "I hope there is a big voter turnout because it costs the same amount of money to run an election. I just hope everybody exercises their right to vote."

The smallest county in the area by population, Bollinger County, also has the fewest contested primaries. Incumbent Winonah Ossig is stepping down as recorder of deeds, and Republicans will nominate either Dana Fullbright or Linda Schreckenberg to face Democrat Patti Barrett in November.

Clerk Diane Holzum said she expects a turnout of about 25 percent because county voters will be deciding an one-eighth cent sales-tax question and voters in the Meadow Heights School District will cast ballots on a $1.5 million bond issue.

The primary election "has always been a low turnout, unless there are a lot of races," Holzum said.

rkeller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126