Where were all the voters? Not at the polls in Jefferson County

Business wasn’t booming at polling places around Jefferson County today, April 2, as only 9.7 percent of the county’s 161,527 registered voters cast ballots.

After a couple of April elections with turnouts of 10 percent or more, Tuesday’s showing was the worst since April 2021’s 8.21 percent and the third-lowest for a municipal election since 2010.

“I was definitely hoping for a larger turnout,” said County Clerk Jeannie Goff. “I first thought that we might do 18 percent to 20 percent, with the countywide sales tax proposition (on recreational marijuana) and the countywide Health Department race on the top of the ballot.

“Then we started to get reports early, and I thought we’d do well to get even 8 percent, so 9.7 percent in the end doesn’t seem too bad,” she said.

“I don’t know why people didn’t show up. There was some rain in the early morning in the northern parts of the county, but that didn’t last all day. So it’s hard to tell.”

There’s an electoral theory that low turnouts help ballot issues and that was the case for many entities today.

The countywide 3 percent sales tax on recreational marijuana sales passed overwhelmingly, 69.19 percent to 30.81 percent.

“I didn’t know how that one was going to go,” Goff said. “But for a lot of the ballot issues, the margins were pretty high.”

Other ballot issues that did well were:

* The De Soto School District’s Proposition 4 Dragons, a $19 million bond issue that was approved, 62.48 percent to 37.52 percent.

* Hillsboro’s Proposition Police, a 1/2-cent sales tax extension for law enforcement that drew overwhelming support, 80.4 percent to 19.6 percent.

* Pevely’s Proposition Public Safety, a 1-cent sales tax increase, found favor by a margin of 68.68 percent to 31.32 percent.

* Herculaneum’s Proposition S, a 1/2-cent sales tax extension, passed, 76.62 percent to 23.38 percent.

Also noteworthy is that Peaceful Village, a small enclave in northwest Jefferson County, will continue to exist, as residents there voted down a question to dissolve it by a 47-9 margin.

Other ballot issues didn’t fare so well, including the Rock Community Fire Protection District’s Proposition R, a 15-cent property tax increase, that fell by a margin of 38.61 percent to 61.39 percent.

Byrnes Mill’s fourth attempt to convince voters to approve a use tax suffered the same fate as it did in 2018, 2022 and 2023.

The Mapaville Fire Protection District asked its voters for a pair of tax issues, and the results were split. A 5-cent property tax for pensions passed by 13 votes, while a 25-cent increase to bolster salaries and improve equipment fell by a scant two votes.

“Poor Mapaville,” Goff said.

The Dunklin Fire Protection District also floated two issues before voters, but both went down to defeat by decisive margins.

Proposition S, a phased-in 25-cent property tax increase that would have been used to hire more firefighters and upgrade equipment, failed 37.36 percent to 62.64 percent. Proposition P, a 5-cent increase for pensions, met a similar fate, as only 36 percent of the voters cast yes ballots while 64 percent voted no.

The district has asked voters to approve similar measures each year since 2019 without success.

“Poor Dunklin,” Goff said. “I don’t know what they have to do to get something passed.”

In the case of Mapaville, Goff said the close margins would be scrutinized by the election verification team, which will go over ballots later this week.

Others she said the team would take a closer look at are for the Ward 4 seat on the Festus City Council, where incumbent Jim Tinnin defeated Charles Underwood by three votes; and the Ward 1 race for the Pevely Board of Aldermen, which saw incumbent Don Menkus squeak out a four-vote victory over John R. Ingram.

She said any race in which the margin is less than a half-percent gets particular attention.

“In both of those cities, the percentage is greater and a half-percent, but the close margins bear another look. In almost all cases, the verification team upholds the results that were counted on Election Day, but we like to take another look when it’s that close.”

Final, unofficial results from the April 2 election. Winners in bold. Incumbents listed with an (I). Ballot issues required a simple majority for passage unless indicated.