Turnout nearly double that of 2014 midterm in Cape County

Strong voter turnout made for busy days at polling places in Southeast Missouri.

For Cape Girardeau County, unofficial results indicated nearly 61 percent voter turnout, with all precincts reporting Tuesday night.

Also in Cape Girardeau County, absentee ballots brought in 2,381 voters, according to unofficial results.

County Clerk Kara Clark Summers had predicted about 65 percent of voters would turn out for Tuesday�s election, close to the actual figure and nearly double the 33 percent turnout figure in the November 2014 election, according to previous reporting.

Perry County had about 59 percent voter turnout, Bollinger County had 57 percent and Scott County had about 56 percent, according to unofficial results posted Tuesday night.

Debbie Rhodes-Hodge, 61, brought her 4-year-old grandson Kasitel Gilchrist to the polls Tuesday, who said he was excited to come along on the �adventure.�

�I want him to see it�s a matter of responsibility,� Rhodes-Hodge said, adding her grandson also helps remind her of how consequential voting can be.

�As adults, as citizens, as registered voters we have the responsibility to make decisions and to do things with our grandchildren in mind,� she said.

Shon Carter, 44, said he enjoys voting as a way to express his opinions on �which direction the country should be going.�

�I�m the only conservative in my family,� he said. �[President Donald Trump] and I, we�re in agreement, but without all the foolish comments and tweets. If it weren�t for that, I�d probably have been at the rally last night.�

�This is our first time; we�re newbies, but turnout has been heavy,� Lisa Elfrink, election judge at Cape Girardeau City Hall, said. �We started this morning with six or eight people lined up outside and it�s been steady since.�

�No twiddling thumbs,� added fellow election judge Belinda Mueller.

At the polling place across town at the Arena Building, election judge Daryl Henry said the volume of voter turnout was a welcome surprise.

�We�re close to 40 percent turnout already and that�s just the voting machines here, not including any absentee ballots, which I know some people have turned in,� he said around 1 p.m., adding they typically see a last-minute voter rush around 5 p.m.

�So it�s gonna be a good turnout, especially for a mid-term year,� he said. �Forty percent is what we get in a full day sometimes (in previous elections).�

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

tgraef@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3627