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Bourbon County sets voting record
By Justin Messner
The Fort Scott Tribune
Following the state and national trends, Bourbon County ended Tuesday night's polls with record high numbers for cast votes.
General election numbers reached nearly 70 percent within the county as 4,403 voters appeared at area polls.
"It's incredible," said Bourbon County Clerk Joanne Long. "I can't remember an election this big."
High numbers at the polls are not all that put vote counts over the top. Advanced votes from 2,334 residents were also counted Tuesday.
"We had 1/3 of our votes in advance," said Long. "That's amazing."
In the end, unofficial ballot counts totalled 6,737, with several provisional ballots to be opened. However, Long said there is still room for improvement.
"This is a really good turnout," she said. "It's still only seven out of every 10 voters, so it's not good enough. But it is very good."
With polling places running at a maximum, Long and her crew of poll workers reported no major problems or delays.
"Everything went really well," said Long. "We had our last poll in at 9:06 (p.m.) which is great."
Election Worker Linda Center echoed Longs comments saying, "We had a lot more voters than usual. (But,) the day could not have gone any better. I have nothing bad or negative to say about it."
Only one problem was reported throughout the day as Fort Scott Police were called out to the Grace Baptist Church, a local polling facility, to direct traffic as motorists had some difficulty maneuvering around the busy building.
Many short but consistent lines formed in almost all of the polling places Tuesday, however, officials reported minimal waits for most voters.
Many cities across the U.S. reported voting waits as long as 5 hours, including St. Louis and Kansas City.
Long attributes Bourbon Counties smooth operations to preparation.
"The Secretary of State began our training a year ago," said Long. "Planning ahead and training people well is key. you get it rolling and it just rolls right along."
As far as a cause for this years boost in voter concern, Long said most residents are finding the election of significant importance.
There is definitely an interest from federal elections all the way down to the sheriff's race," she said. "There has been a lot of interest from everybody. Interest is good."
Over the next several days, Long's office will continue to verify votes and count provisional ballots.
Look for additional voter and election results information in upcoming editions of The Fort Scott Tribune.