With apparent narrow victories for both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton in Missouri Tuesday, one thing that was clear was a bump in voter turnout from previous elections.
The trend was visible in some of Missouri’s southwestern counties. Greene County saw a 44 percent turnout in the primary. That number is up from 39 percent in the 2008 Missouri primary, according to Greene County Clerk Shane Schoeller said.
“In 2008 it was a 39 percent turnout. So, we saw a nice, healthy increase of five percent more this election.”
Despite losing the state as a whole, Ted Cruz earned the most votes in Greene County for the Republican primary with 51 percent. Current frontrunner Donald Trump received 32 percent of the vote. On the Democrat side, Bernie Sanders won Greene County in a landslide over Hillary Clinton with 61 percent of the vote, compared to her 38 percent.
Cruz and Sanders also won Jasper County, which experienced a 30 percent higher turnout than the 2012 primary of just 6 percent. That’s according to Jasper County Clerk Marilyn Baugh.
“There just wasn’t the hype, and I think Mr. Trump is entertaining, to say the least. I think people are tired of the status quo and they want a change. So, we had lots of turnout.”
Trump did manage to win nearby Taney County, claiming 47 percent of the Republican vote, according to a Taney County Election Summary Report. Cruz finished second in the county with 39 percent of the vote. Sanders won a majority of the Democrat votes with 52 percent.
Howell County also saw an increase in voter turnout. The county had an even 10,600 votes casted, compared to just over 9,000 votes in the 2008 Missouri primary. Sanders won Howell County with 57 percent over Clinton. On the Republican side, Trump received 49 percent of the vote to win the county. Dennis Von Allmen is the Howell County clerk.
“Well, of course both parties have highly contested primaries. When you have that, it sets up the stage for good voter participation.”
See how each county in Missouri voted here.
While Trump and Clinton were both projected as winners in the state, their victories came by extremely small margins, less than half a percentage point. This could set the stage for a recount.
According to state law, if a candidate loses an election by less than half a percentage point, that candidate can request a recount. In that event, the state would have to certify the election, which could take up to a month.
