April 08, 2008 02:05 pm
—
There is a noticeable lack of young voters today, unlike the Missouri primary election earlier this year, judges and precinct workers at Precinct No. 24 in Joplin said Tuesday.
“It’s s-l-o-w,” said precinct workers in unison.
“Older people are turning out but not the younger voters this time,” said precinct worker Diana Fleischaker. “We had one who was a first=time voter and he was in his 50s or 60s.”
In fact, there was a noticeable lack of voters, they said.
By 11:30 a.m., there had been only 38 votes cast at the precinct, located in Peace Lutheran Church at 20th Street and Wisconsin Avenue.
“There’s not usually a heavy turnout (in a spring election),” said Diana Fleischaker.
“Unless there’s a bond issue,” added another precinct worker, Karen Hughlett.
“It’s pretty low,” is how precinct worker Cecilia Marshall described voter turnout at Precinct No. 27 at Calvary Baptist Church on 50th Street.
Another precinct worker there, Benny Phillips, said there had been 91 voters there in six hours. Normally election he would have expected 250 to 300 voters by noon, Phillips said.
Why the low turnout when Joplin is electing city council and school board representatives? “Weather and apathy,” replied Phillips.
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Photos
Globe/Roger Nomer...
Maxine Gammon works on a puzzle while waiting for voters at the Joplin Association for the Blind on Tuesday morning. Precincts 10 and 11 at the association had about 17 voters at 9:30 a.m. Election workers hoped the rain would let up and the precincts would see more voters later in the morning.