September 06, 2008 08:35 pm
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By Susan Redden
sredden@joplinglobe.com
Increases in the number of people registering to vote have some local election officials preparing for record turnouts in presidential balloting on Nov. 4.
In Jasper and Newton counties, about 7,500 new voters have registered since the start of the year, clerks said.
“I think we’ll have a big turnout, and long lines,” said Bonnie Earl, Jasper County clerk. “So we’re trying to prepare voters, and ourselves, as much as possible in advance.”
Other election officials say they also are seeing an increase in new registrations, but not to the level that suggests there will be more voters than those who normally show up each four years.
The fact that some residents vote only in presidential elections is part of why she’s concerned, Earl said. The county has purchased new optical-scan voting machines since the last presidential vote, so that equipment may be new for a percentage of those casting votes in November.
“We’re worried it could slow down voting, so we’re going to put machines out in October in the courthouses in Carthage and Joplin, so people can drop by and vote a practice ballot,” she said.
Annetta St. Clair, a political science professor at Missouri Southern State University, said she believes the historic match-up could lead to a historic turnout.
“One way or other, it’s going to be historic, electing the first African American as president or the first woman as vice president,” she said. “It’s generated a lot of interest.”
Some of the increased voter registrations could be younger voters attracted by the Obama campaign, said St. Clair.
“That’s a group that normally doesn’t vote in large numbers,” she said. “It will be interesting to see if they do, after they’ve registered.”
In Jasper County, about 5,000 new voters have registered since the first of the year. At the time of the primary elections on Aug. 5, for the sake of example, Jasper County cited 75,838 registered voters.
In Newton County, about 2,500 voters have been added to the registered rolls since the first of the year, said Kay Baum, county clerk.
Earl and Baum said some of the registrations have come as a result of campaign efforts, but Baum said about half of those in Newton County were residents who registered when they renewed their driver licenses.
“That doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll vote,” she said.
Both clerks do, however, expect big turnouts on Election Day, and plan to hire additional election clerks to staff polling places.
In Cherokee County in Kansas, voter registrations are up, but not by large numbers, according to Sandra Soper, county clerk.
“We haven’t been bombarded, at least not yet,” she said. “I’m expecting a ‘normal’ presidential election turnout.”
Connie Payton, assistant secretary of the election board in Ottawa County, agreed, noting that her office “is getting quite a few new voter registrations.”
“But you always do for presidential election,” she said. “I don’t look for it to be any larger than any other presidential election.”
St. Clair said the contrasts presented by the major parties’ campaigns “may shake some people out of their doldrums.”
“It may make them realize that if they want to have a part in government, that they have to take part in government,” she said. “People tend to spout the platitudes that it’s our democracy and everyone should take part — then they don’t vote. This time, the economy may be having an impact, if someone has lost their job or knows someone who has, they may decide it’s time.”
The recent announcement of vice presidential candidates also seems to have increased interest in the race, St. Clair said.
Registration deadlines
The voter registration deadline for the Nov. 4 election is Oct. 8 in Missouri, Oct. 10 in Oklahoma, and Oct. 20 in Kansas.
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