MOTOR VOTER YIELDS ROLLS, BUT NOT POLLS

Few people registering to vote under the state's motor voter law voted in the April election, a survey of election reports from area counties shows.

The law, effective Jan. 1, is part of a federal effort to get increased voter turnout.

Agencies, such as employment offices and license bureaus, can register people.

A survey of election reports from area counties shows that in Cape Girardeau County, 11 of the 600 people registered under new law actually voted -- a 1.5 percent turnout.

The turnout in Scott County was similar: 15 of almost 1,000 voted, and in Perry County, five voted of 220 people who registered.

Cape Girardeau County Clerk Rodney Miller said the problem wasn't registration, it was getting people "to participate in the system."

Perry County Clerk Randy Taylor expected more newly registered people to vote.

Taylor said, "Everything we did in preparation for the election and only five took advantage of it. It's disappointing."

Statewide, 18.5 percent of registered voters -- 550,000 people -- voted in the April election. Missouri has 2.9 million registered voters.

Other counties had similar turnouts from people who registered at state agencies.

In a survey two weeks prior to the election, county clerks said most registrations were coming from Department of Family Services offices, followed by health departments and license bureaus.

State agencies aren't required to record whether the registrants vote, but they must keep records if a person was offered to be registered at the office.

The law also dropped the deadline of three weeks prior to an election for people to register. People can register up to the day before an election.

As a result, county clerks must invest more time and effort to comply with the law.

Miller said motor voter is the equivalent of an unfunded mandate from the federal government.

"It's something that we were told to do without telling us how to pay for it," he said.

Perry County "had some expenses because of it, but not enough we weren't able to handle," Taylor said.

Miller said the 1996 presidential election will stress election officials with a surge of people wanting to register.