Election officials predict few voters will go to the polls Tuesday

Few area voters will go to the polls Tuesday, election officials said.

"People don't turn out for April elections," Scott County Clerk Rita Milam said.

She estimated about 18 percent of Scott County's more than 25,000 registered voters will cast ballots.

Only about 12 percent to 14 percent of Cape Girardeau County's nearly 52,000 registered voters are expected to go to the polls despite several ballot issues, County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said.

A Jackson School District bond issue, a Fruitland Area Fire Protection District tax measure and a Jackson city ballot measure dealing with alcohol sales should help with turnout, Summers said.

A contested Cape Girardeau School Board election also should draw some voter interest, she said. Without such issues and races, voter turnout probably would be even lower, Summers said.

Low voter turnout will make it even more important for candidates to get their supporters to show up at the polls, she said.

Bollinger County Clerk Brittany Hovis estimated about 15 percent of her county's 8,000 registered voters will cast ballots.

About 17 percent to 21 percent of Perry County's approximately 12,000 registered voters will cast ballots, County Clerk Jared Kutz predicted.

Even with a tax issue on the ballot in Perry County School District 32, the largest school district in the county, most voters won't show up on Election Day, he said.

Research has shown "there is a waning of interest in politics after a presidential election," Kutz said.

Polls in Missouri will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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