Low turnout for 8th District special election

The special election Tuesday to decide who would replace former U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson in Congress was marked by low voter turnout.

According to information released by Secretary of State Jason Kander, the unofficial voter turnout for the special election in the 8th Congressional District was 12.94 percent. In raw numbers, about 62,760 out of nearly 495,000 registered voters in the district went to the polls on Tuesday.

In unofficial returns, State Rep. Jason Smith, a Republican, beat Democratic State Rep. Steve Hodges 67 percent to 27 percent, or 42,145 votes for Smith to 17,203 for Hodges. Constitution Party candidate Doug Enyart gained 3.6 percent of the vote, and Libertarian Bill Slantz received 1.5 percent.

The three counties in the 8th District with the highest voter turnout were Dent County -- Smith's home county -- with 28.26 percent; Mississippi County -- Steve Hodges's home county -- with 20.10 percent; and Shannon County, which had a 16.7 percent voter turnout.

Voter turnout in area counties on Tuesday was also low. In unofficial counts, Cape Girardeau County recorded a turnout of 16.64 percent of registered voters, followed by Bollinger County at 16.34 percent. Scott County had 15.98 percent of registered voters casting a ballot, and Stoddard County had 14.47 percent. Perry County had a voter turnout of 13.88 percent and Madison County had 13.34 percent.

Emerson resigned from Congress in January after more than 16 years in office to head the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, where she now serves as CEO.