Most election officials expect turnout of over 30 percent

More than a third of registered voters in Cape Girardeau, Scott and Perry counties may go the polls Tuesday to cast ballots in the state's presidential primary, election officials say.

That prediction would mirror the statewide forecast that 34.15 percent of Missourians will take part in the election. Fifty-two GOP delegates and 71 Democratic delegates are at stake in the single-issue election.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Kara Clark Summers said as many as 33 percent of the county's 52,000 voters may turn out. She said voter interest has been fueled by the national media attention to the heated race between Republican front-runner Donald Trump and three other candidates, and the Democratic contest between Hillary Clinton and avowed democratic socialist Bernie Sanders.

Still, she doubted the turnout will match or exceed the 2008 presidential primary, where just under 40 percent of the county's registered voters -- more than 11,000 Republicans and close to 8,000 Democrats -- cast ballots.

As of Friday, more than 400 voters had cast absentee ballots. Summers said there has been a lot of interest in the election, but not to the level of the 2008 primary.

"We are busy, but it is not as alive as it was in 2008. In 2008, everybody knew there was an election," she said.

No election in the county compares to the November presidential election every four years, where 70 to 80 percent of registered voters show up to the polls.

Summers and other county clerks in the region said they expect turnout to be higher than in the 2012 primary. In that election, few people voted because it amounted to a straw poll that didn't award any delegates, they said.

In Cape Girardeau County, just over 8 percent of the voters cast ballots in the February 2012 primary.

"It was ridiculous. It was absolutely absurd to hold an election like this," she said.

The presidential primary is the only election in which the state of Missouri pays the expenses. The counties pay the cost of other elections, Summers said.

Polls across the state will open at 6 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Voters will cast ballots at 29 polling places. Voters in any precinct also can cast ballots at the county clerk's office in Jackson.

Summers advised voters should completely fill in the ovals on the optical-scan ballots for their votes to be tabulated by the voting machines. In past elections, some voters have circled the ovals or placed a check mark. There are signs asking voters to fill in the ovals, but some voters still have not gotten the message, she said.

Voters will need to bring their voter-ID card, driver's license or other form of identification to cast ballots, Summers said.

Only one polling place was moved for this election compared to past elections. Voters in the Byrd 3 and 4 precincts in Jackson will cast their ballots at the Jackson Elks Lodge, 542 W. Independence St., rather than at the American Legion Hall. The change was made for traffic-safety reasons so voters won't have to cross a busy street.

In Scott County, an estimated 35 percent of the more than 25,000 registered voters may go to the polls, County Clerk Rita Milam said.

"I would be pleased if we get that," she said.

Milam said voter interest may be fueled in part by the prospect of electing a new president this year.

About 37 percent of Perry County's 12.000 voters may go to the polls, breaking the 36 percent turnout figure from 2008, County Clerk Jared Kutz predicted.

"I am an optimist. I love it when people vote," he said.

Kutz said the fact there still is a contest in the Republican and Democratic presidential primaries should help draw voters to the ballot box.

The primary contests for president have sparked voter interest, said Holly Lintner, who chairs the Cape Girardeau County Republican Party Central Committee.

"I expect turnout to be high. There is a lot of enthusiasm right now," she said.

The Fruitland resident said she receives about four or five calls a day from people looking to obtain political signs for Trump and fellow candidate Ted Cruz.

"I feel there is a lot of enthusiasm for both Trump and Cruz," she said. Lintner said the media exposure to the GOP candidates, particularly in the televised debates, has grabbed voters' attention.

"The media debates are so off the wall," she said.

Michael Davis, chairman of the Cape Girardeau County Democrat Central Committee, said he hopes voters will show up at the polls, whatever their political persuasion.

The Cape Girardeau resident said he believes Sanders' candidacy on the Democratic side has drawn some attention locally. Sanders' campaign opened an office on Broadway in Cape Girardeau.

"I think certainly among young voters, there has been a tremendous amount of excitement over Bernie Sanders," Davis said.

But in Bollinger County, there has been little voter enthusiasm for the upcoming election, said County Clerk Brittany Hovis. The rural county has about 8,000 registered voters.

"We will be lucky to get a 20 percent turnout," she said. "I have come across a lot of people who don't even realize that we have an election in March."

mbliss@semissourian.com

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