NewsMarch 8, 2022
Change in website address in effort to boost Cape Girardeau County turnout
Kara Clark Summers, Cape Girardeau County clerk and election authority since 2007, told the county's Republican Women's Club on Friday a subtle alteration has been made in the way residents can access election information. "We changed our website from capecountyelections.com to capecountyvotes.com. ...
Kara Clark Summers, Cape Girardeau County clerk and election authority since 2007, told the county's Republican Women's Club on Friday a subtle alteration has been made in the way residents can access election information.
"We changed our website from capecountyelections.com to capecountyvotes.com. We thought it was just easier for people to understand. If you go to capecountyelections, it's going to take you to capecountyvotes. We're going to start trying to change everything over to capecountyvotes just because we want [voting] to be top of mind," Summers said.
Turnout
"If you look at the number of registered voters and then look at the number that turned out, that's the problem. We need to get people out to vote," Summers said.
In April, 8.6% of the county's 52,468 registered voters cast ballots. The election featured an extraordinarily close race for a four-year term on the Cape Girardeau County Public Health Center Board of Trustees. Newcomer Eric Becking defeated incumbent Emily Collins by two votes for the third and last seat available.
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A similarly tight race June 2, 2020, for Cape Girardeau School Board saw Missy Nieveen Phegley defeat incumbent Tony Smee by five votes. On election night, it appeared Smee had held onto his seat by two votes. After official certification three days later, after all absentee votes had been tallied, Phegley emerged the victor. Turnout in the county was 12.3%.
The high-water mark for turnout in recent years in Cape Girardeau County, 73.3%, was witnessed Nov. 3, 2020, which featured the presidential race between now-former President Donald Trump and current President Joe Biden. In that contest, county voters preferred Trump 71.5% to 26.6%, with the remaining percentage shared by five other candidates.
Help requested
"I would encourage more people to get involved and understand the process. We had a lot of new people this last year," Summers told the GOP women, noting residents may serve as election judges, supervisory judges, absentee judges and verification board members, for example.
"Election integrity is the most important, vital part of our job. We follow the law and we're staying on top of those laws every day with the legislature. I'm currently on the board for the Missouri County Clerk and Election Authorities, so I have some influence there and working with our lobbyists and staying on top of those things that are working for you all, the people. If you have any concerns about legislation, please contact your legislators. But if there's anything that I can do to help with voting, let me know," she added.
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