Voter turnout

More voters turned out for Tuesday's primary election (29 percent) than the previous nonpresidential primary in 2006 (a little over 20 percent). The increase was attributed to a keen interest in the race for presiding commissioner and Proposition C, a statewide referendum on national health care legislation. Across Missouri, election officials said Proposition C appeared to be pulling more voters to the polls.

Even with the increase in turnout, only 15,616 voters went to the polls or cast absentee ballots. There are 51,360 registered voters in the county.

More than 70 percent of voters decided, for whatever reasons, not to participate in Tuesday's election. This begs the question: Why?

While some voters were motivated to go to their respective polling places because of contested races or because they wanted to make their voices heard in Washington with Proposition C, most eligible voters stayed away from a ballot box.

This is not a new problem.

Presidential elections tend to draw about 55 percent of the voters nationwide, while midterm turnout hovers near 37 percent The biggest percentage vote in the last 50 years was 63.1 percent in 1960, which John F. Kennedy was elected.