County averages 16 percent turnout

Sixteen percent of Cape Girardeau County's registered voters went to the polls Tuesday, an election highlighted by Cape Girardeau's four tax and fee issues.

Some said the turnout was about what they expected, while others say it was lower.

County Clerk Rodney Miller sided with the latter.

"We had the issues in Cape and school board in Jackson. To me, personally, I thought we'd have a better turnout," he said.

Some election judges in Cape Girardeau weren't dismayed by the voters' showings. At Cape Girardeau City Hall, which is the polling place for Precinct 8's 1,480 registered voters, 150 people had voted by late Tuesday afternoon.

"This is so far a pretty good turnout," said election judge Dorothy DiGirolamo, who added that turnout typically isn't high in an April election.

In Cape Girardeau, 5,068 registered voters cast ballots. That's 22.6 percent and 282 fewer ballots than were cast in Cape Girardeau last April in the mayor's race between Jay Knudtson and Melvin Gateley.

In Jackson, only 1,401, or 7.94 percent, showed up at the polls where five school board candidates competed for two spots. Two city races were uncontested.

The village of Pocahontas had by far the highest turnout of any town or district in the county. Voters there approved a $500,000 bond issue for a sewer 30 to 1. The 31 ballots cast represented a 47.7 percent turnout of the village's 65 voters.

DiGirolamo and election judges throughout the county were trying to find something to do with their idle time between voters. At Cape Girardeau City Hall, they chatted.

In Jackson, the election judges at First Baptist Church watched a soap opera on a small television set. Other election judges in the county reportedly used their time to catch up on some knitting.

At Cox Memorial Hall at New McKendree United Methodist Church in Jackson, only 104 voters had exercised their right by 2:30 p.m.

"We've had more than that in the first half-hour of a general election," said election judge Dorothy Wagner.

bmiller@semissourian.com

243-6635