Annexation draws out Jackson voters; Cape voting slow in primary election

Jackson residents were voting in decent numbers Tuesday, elections officials said, no doubt drawn to the ballot box by the controversial annexation question.

In Cape Girardeau, however, election judges were fighting boredom as voters seemed to be reacting to the nonbinding presidential primary with a yawn.

"Jackson's been pretty busy," said Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers. "It's about what I expected, because of the annexation issue."

Jackson voters are being asked to weigh in on the city's proposed annexation of the Heartland Materials quarry and other parcels in Fruitland. The balloted item has been the subject of a heated debate and even drawn a lawsuit in the days leading up to the election.

Opponents to the annexation have suggested the quarry would hurt the environment, specifically to those who work and attend Saxony Lutheran School. Supporters, including Mayor Barbara Lohr, tout the annexation as a potential financial boon and is the next step in the city's orderly growth.

With polls still open until 7 p.m., the precincts in Jackson were seeing good turnout all morning and into the afternoon. By noon, elections judges at the precinct at New McKendree Methodist Church had seen more than 150 voters. Judges there reported voters coming in at times in droves.

Just across South High Street, the precinct located at the First Baptist Church of Jackson reported 234 voters before 2 p.m.

"It's been steady for us all day," said election judge Jeanette Bollinger.

A line had formed outside the precinct by the time the polls opened at 6 a.m., she said.

"This has not been the busiest election but its been consistent," said Bollinger, who has been election judge for 10 years. Presidential elections are typically the busiest, she added.

Few people at the New McKendree and First Baptist precincts wanted to share how they voted on annexation, but the ones who did mostly voted for it.

"I feel the reasons for it were better than the reasons against it," said Richard Owens, who has lived in Jackson for six years.

Others voted for annexation because of its potential economic impact.

"They're already building a casino down in Cape, so this would be good for the economy," said Jackson resident Bill Walker.

Bill Stiers said he had a far simpler reason to vote against annexation -- he said his landlord and his daughter told him it would be bad for the community.

In Cape Girardeau, where there were no local issues on the ballot, Summers said the turnout would likely be lower than she expected.

Summers predicted last month that 32 percent of Cape Girardeau County's 51,768 registered voters would cast ballots.

"It's going to be a lot lower than I expected," Summers said. "It's very disappointing. We had a very slow morning. We spent so much time and cost in this election."

The presidential primary in Missouri has been lambasted as a meaningless straw poll because it's actually a preferential election that doesn't award any of the state's 52 delegates. That process will begin March 17 with the caucuses.

The voting totals so far Tuesday show that Cape Girardeau residents weren't all that interested, although some got to vote during the trial phase of the county's new electronic poll books.

Some groused that GOP candidate Newt Gingrich wasn't on the ballot, while several candidates who have already dropped out remained.

At precincts 7 and 17 at the Arena Building, 146 people had voted by early afternoon, but elections judge Carla Tilley said they normally see 400 to 500 by noon. Eight election judges largely read magazines, books or talked to each other.

"This is one of the slowest ones I've ever been to," she said.

Ken Steinkamp was one of those who did vote in the primary, throwing his support to former Pennsylvania senator Rick Santorum. He realized the election carried little weight, but added that "we never get a say in anything and it's nice to get a word in."

But he also the called the primary -- which cost voters about $7 million statewide -- a "complete waste of money."

smoyers@semissourian.com

388-3642

psullivan@semissourian.com

388-3635

Pertinent addresses:

Cape Girardeau, MO

Jackson, MO