Voter turnout 7 percent below Secretary of State's projection in Tuesday vote
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Voter turnout 7 percent below Secretary of State's projection in Tuesday vote

Date: November 7, 2012
By: Alexander Mallin
State Capitol Bureau

Intro: 
Numbers are in from the Secretary of State's office, and fewer Missourians than expected cast their vote in Tuesday's election.
RunTime:  0:37
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: 65 percent of registered voters cast their votes in the election.

That's about 7 percent fewer than the Secretary of State's office had projected originally.

Stacie Temple, a spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, says that lower turnout may have actually prevented problems at the polls.

Actuality:  TEMP2.WAV
Run Time:  00:14
Description: "It's certainly preferable for counties to err on the side of expecting a large number of voters and to prepare for voters so that they have an adequate number of voting stations, have an adequate number of poll workers and have an adequate number of ballots."
 
This year's turnout was down 4 percent from the 2008 election.

Reporting from the state capitol, I'm Alex Mallin.

Intro: 
More than 2.7 million Missourians cast their ballots in Tuesday's election, but that's still less than the Secretary of State's office had projected.
RunTime:  0:37
OutCue:  SOC

Wrap: In preparation for the election, all Missouri counties had to send voter turnout projections to the Secretary of State's office.

Rich Chrismer is the Director of Elections for St. Charles County. He says the overestimates were due to counties assuming an increase in absentee ballots would lead to a higher turnout. 

Actuality:  CHRISM.WAV
Run Time:  00:11
Description: "Our voter turnout was just under 73 percent, and we did drop from 2008 and I'm a little suprised with that because it just started off so heavily."
 
Chrismer says St. Charles County voter turnout was 13 percent lower than he projected.

Reporting from the state capitol, I'm Alex Mallin.