Pettis County saw a double-digit percentage of registered voters cast a ballot in the 2023 municipal election but the total didn’t quite hit 20%
According to information from the Pettis County Clerk’s Office, there are 26,081 registered voters in Pettis County. There were 5,108 who participated in the April 4 municipal election, which is 19.59%. That breaks down into 3,983 ballots on Election Day and 1,125 absentee ballots.
Last week, Pettis County Clerk Nick La Strada told the Democrat he predicted a 22-24% turnout based on previous municipal elections, the number of absentee ballots his office had received, and the high interest in the numerous ballot questions.
According to La Strada, the 2022 municipal election had a 21.88% registered voter turnout, higher than the 17.88% turnout in 2021. With those stats in mind, La Strada had been hoping to hit at least 22% this year.
“I’m a little disappointed, I was hoping to end up beating the record there,” La Strada told the Democrat on Tuesday night. “Thoughout the day, it was very steady, then we had a jolt around 5 p.m. and people started coming in. I’m happy that we’re in double digits and happy we almost hit 20%. These local elections are huge and people need to be more intrigued and into them because they have such representation for our county.”
He added that the last time Pettis County had a similar turnout for a municipal election was in 2018 with 19.57%. He said that puts the 2023 municipal election turnout in the top three in the past 15 years.
The Clerk’s Office used its new tabulation equipment from ES&S during the municipal election. La Strada said the previous equipment was about seven years old and needed to be replaced. Last week, he said the new equipment is user-friendly and includes several features that would make Election Night more efficient for poll workers.
On Tuesday, he said the new equipment worked well, resulting in all precincts reporting within 54 minutes.
“The poll workers love it (the new equipment). It was great,” he said Tuesday. “Didn’t have one issue. It ran very flawlessly. Quick, efficient, fast. Voters seemed like they liked it. It was just very good, everyone perceived it very well. We were excited.”
La Strada said his office can still accept military ballots through Friday, and results remain unofficial until the Clerk’s Office certifies the election.
Nicole Cooke can be reached at 660-530-0138 or on Twitter @NicoleRCooke.
