Mo. presidential primary sets low mark in turnout

Friday, February 10, 2012

By DAVID A. LIEB

Associated Press

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Though Republican Rick Santorum claimed momentum from the results, just 8 percent of Missouri’s registered voters cast ballots in its presidential primary — setting a new low for state electoral participation.

The low voter turnout came at a high price — an estimated $7 million for the election, or more than $21 for each vote cast, at a time when Missouri is slicing funding for public universities and reducing its workforce in a struggle to balance its budget.

In retrospect, “it was a waste of money,” Missouri House Budget Committee Chairman Ryan Silvey, a Kansas City Republican, said Friday.

Silvey was one of several million Missouri voters who skipped the primary. Like others, Silvey cited the fact that the Republican vote didn’t count toward awarding delegates to the Republican National Convention. Missouri’s GOP delegates will instead be allotted under a caucus system that begins March 17.

Santorum won about 55 percent of the 251,868 votes cast in Missouri’s Republican primary, more than doubling those for Mitt Romney and giving him a sweep of Tuesday’s contests in Missouri, Minnesota and Colorado. Missouri’s Democratic primary did count for delegates, but President Barack Obama faced no serious opposition and just 72,923 people cast Democratic ballots.

Missouri does not require voters to register by parties, meaning anyone can participate in either party’s primary.

“Missouri voters heard for weeks that their vote in the Republican primary wasn’t going to count, and that obviously had a negative effect on turnout. It is unfortunate that a lot of political wrangling discouraged people from voting,” said Ryan Hobart, a spokesman for Democratic Secretary of State Robin Carnahan.

Under state law, Missouri’s primary must occur Feb. 7. But when the national Republican Party warned states they could lose half their delegates for holding primaries that early, Missouri’s Republican-led Legislature passed a bill last year to reschedule the primary for March 6. Democratic Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed the bill, citing objections to unrelated sections.

Nixon then added the presidential primary to the agenda for an autumn special session. But some Republican senators insisted Missouri should thumb its nose at the national party directive, and lawmakers failed to pass a bill delaying the primary. To avoid getting penalized by the national party, Missouri’s Republican Party opted to use a spring caucus system — instead of the February primary — to choose its delegates.

Election officials had projected a 23 percent turnout for the primary. That threshold was exceeded in only one of Missouri’s 114 counties. Southeast Missouri’s New Madrid County was the lowest of the low — with just 3 percent voter turnout.

“The lack of attention paid to the nonbinding primary led to lower-than-usual turnout, but this should not be mistaken for voter apathy,” said Lloyd Smith, the executive director of the Missouri Republican Party. “The truth is, all across our state, we are seeing huge numbers of Republicans who energized and motivated to make Barack Obama a one-term president.”

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JCLifer 1 year, 3 months ago

So, at the previous reported cost of $7,000,000.00 for the election in Missouri, that works out to about $21.54 a vote cast? Is my math correct?

Good thing our economy is in such good shape to be able to pay for this, but we pay our state employees who can spend their money at local businesses the lowest wages in the nation? Here is a cause the Chamber can spearhead if they want to make a difference in the local economy!

tonto_goldberg 1 year, 3 months ago

Transformation in action!

dinger 1 year, 3 months ago

The presidential primary that was just held is nothing but a joke that cost the state seven million wasted dollars that could have been used to balance our fragile Missouri economy. The presidential primary is not a public right like the presidential election but is a something that the parties do as it’s their candidate. The political parties are private entities who are only responsible to their members concerning what candidate runs under their banner. The recent primary election meant as much if there had been a statewide vote held when Budweiser sold out to InBev as their board of directors are only responsible to their stockholders and not to the people of Missouri.

If the presidential primary just has to be done then all the political parties represented in the primary should have to pay all costs equally. I’m not sure how many political parties were represented but, if it was five parties then each party should have to pay the state 1.4 million dollars for the primary and this should be paid up front so they can’t duck the payment or make them post a 5 million dollar bond.

JuneCleaversDoppleganger 1 year, 3 months ago

It's pretty difficult to hold all four political parties represented in Tuesday's non-binding primary as culpable when the Missouri House passed the caucus to replace the primary, with a near veto-proof Republican majority, and lopsided Republican Senate.

The RNC didn't agree with the Missouri GOP that Missouri's primary needed to be moved on the calendar and they threatened to take away delegates. This cataclysmic event is brought to you by the Missouri Republican Party.

Let's give credit where it is due.

I cannot wait to see how Missouri Republican voters show their support to their Republicans when Romney receives the delegates in March, contrary to Santorum receiving the popular vote Tuesday.

bluesfan13 1 year, 3 months ago

That's not exactly correct. Nixon did veto a bill that would have moved the primary, BUT it was because the Republicans had added other non-primary related legislation in the same bill.
When given the opportunity to create a new bill, "...some Republican senators insisted Missouri should thumb its nose at the national party directive, and lawmakers failed to pass a bill delaying the primary"

JuneCleaversDoppleganger 1 year, 3 months ago

"I don't know why you think Romney will get more delgates. He hasn't been here."

GOP endorsing Romney in Missouri: Gov Matt Blunt, Senator Roy Blunt, Rep Billy Long, Senator Jim Talent (now working for Romney campaign), Senator John Danforth, Auditor Tom Schweich, House Speaker Steve Tilley, and a list of about 55 other Missouri Republican past and present office holders.

Romney today won the straw poll at the tea party breeding ground, CPAC - Conservative Political Action Committee in DC.

Romney today won the Maine Caucus.

Romney currently has 121 delegates, Santorum has 37. (Newt - 38, Paul - 25).

Arizona and Michigan are the next primaries, February 28, 2012. Romney has 91% and 89% chance, respectively, of winning delegates in those winner-take-all primaries.

Momentum for Romney is building at a rapid, hard to catch, pace for the other candidates.

Other than these, there are no reasons why Romney will win Missouri Caucus.

JuneCleaversDoppleganger 1 year, 3 months ago

Why does it count more when Santorum wins a caucus than Romney? When you talk about Romney, you start talking percentages, but for Santorum it's just a win.

I'm waiting for the explosion in Missouri between what the popular vote is - Santorum based on the non-binding Tuesday primary - and when the caucus delivers Romney delegates. Voters vs. the Establishment.

I think your analysis supports this premise very well: Republicans aren't voting for anyone this year. They're voting against someone.

With 20% of Republicans turning to Obama, it isn't going to matter who wins the GOP nomination anyway.

wow 1 year, 3 months ago

It appears as if Missouri was the only state that had a "Spare $7,000,000.00" just laying around in the budget. But if that's not the case.....ANYONE IN ANY PARTY who allowed, voted for.... whatever. If these people went along with $7,000,000 dollars being spent on an election that doesn't even matter, at the same &*^%$%#$^&% time people are going hungry, without medical care, struggelling on minimum wages....if these so called "champions of the people" can sit around the coffe table boasting "how careing they are and why one should be chossen over the other...AT THE SAME TIME NOT ONE OF THEM make one mention of the IGNORANTLY SPENT $7,000,000! Then in my book it just goes to prove that none of these folks are in touch with the struggles real people are dealing with. So therefore NONE of them should be allowed to continue as elected officials and certainly none of them deserve to be elevated the position of President of the United States!!!! Yeah on this the Repulicans had the ball in their court and could have prevented this, but the Democrats bear some fault here to. TWADS to waste all that money, especially at time like this.

asb 1 year, 3 months ago

The caucas process favors the establishment. If the newly elected republican teaparty mob hadn't christmas treed the primary bill, Nixon's people would've counseled letting a public primary choose the Missouri delegates from among the far right nuts instead of having the corporate GOP pick a businessman. Nobody could've predicted WHO would be in the running, but it was clear just WHAT would be contested.

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