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The age range with the highest voter participation during Cole County's Aug. 4 primary was those ages 55-64 - and the lowest participation was among the county's youngest and oldest voters.
Voters ages 55-64 accounted for 24 percent of Cole County's voter turnout in August, while voters ages 18-21 accounted for only 2.7 percent; ages 85 and older, 2.8 percent; and ages 22-34, 8.7 percent, according to a breakdown from the Cole County Clerk's Office.
The full breakdown of Cole County votes cast by age group in the primary election is as follows:
18-21: 515 (2.7 percent).
22-34: 1,677 (8.7 percent).
35-44: 2,278 (11.9 percent).
45-54: 3,064 (16 percent).
55-64: 4,607 (24 percent).
65-74: 4,493 (23.4 percent).
75-84: 2,018 (10.5 percent).
85 and older: 536 (2.8 percent).
There were 19,277 Cole County ballots cast in this year's Aug. 4 primary election out of 53,006 total registered voters - a voter turnout of 36 percent.
There is a difference of 89 voters between the number of ballots cast and the total number of votes reflected in the age breakdown. Cole County election officials said voter registration totals change daily, and some voters have moved to other counties since Election Day.
In the August 2016 primary election, 376 voters in the 18-25 age group voted in Cole County, according to Cole County Clerk Steve Korsmeyer.
Korsmeyer expects more young voters to turn out for the Nov. 3 general election, when the president and governor's races will be decided; he expects an overall turnout of 70 percent or more this November. In the 2016 presidential election, Cole County had a voter turnout of 71 percent, with 37,981 ballots cast.
"It is interesting to me that more people over 85 voted than did people in the 18-21 age group," Cole County Republican Central Committee Chair Penny Quigg said. "Are we as older adults not conveying to the younger generation the importance of voting? My mom and dad talked about government, politics, world affairs and voting at the dinner table every night. I believe I would dishonor my parents' teaching if I did not take the electoral process seriously."
Cole County Democratic Central Committee Chair Josh Dunne said they have to work to impress on younger voters that if they want to be heard in government, they have to be the ones to show politicians they need to pay attention to issues that matter to young people.
"I'm 34, and the 35-and-below age group is also trending down," Dunne said. "They don't feel like they're being heard, but if they don't feel the current lawmakers represent the will of the voter, the only way to change that is to get out and vote."
Quigg said we shouldn't depend solely on schools to teach children about citizenship and the duties that come with it.
"This is a function of good parenting," Quigg said. "You model your behavior to the way you want you kids to act, and that's the best way to ensure they are active voters. My grown-up children still call me to let me know they voted."
Quigg said voter registration events have been held at local high schools and at Lincoln University to register young people to vote. Under Missouri state statute, you can register when you are 17-and-a-half as long as you are 18 on Election Day, Quigg noted.
"Young people right now don't feel they're represented by the current representation in our government and it doesn't matter how they vote," Dunne said. "They have a misconception that if you don't live in the major metro areas then your vote doesn't count unless you vote with the Republican majority, and that's false. Democratic voters in rural Missouri have to know that their votes count and can help move the state forward in many areas."