(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) No voter turnout records were broken during the 2020 presidential election in Buchanan County.
Local county election officials expected an 80% voter turnout this year, but came up short by 11%, mirroring the numbers in 2016.
"I was really shocked cause we started off at six in the morning with a bang," said Mary Baack-Garvey, the Buchanan County clerk. "I mean it was non-stop phone calls. I mean voters lined up outside, you know, and they were getting processed so quickly. And I was sitting there going, 'oh, we're going to hit 85' and it tapered off in the evening hours which really surprises me too, because that's usually when it usually picks up."
The county saw an increase in voter turnout prior to Election day with absentee voting, but the anticipated 80% voter turnout was not recorded.
53,000 Buchanan County residents were registered to vote, and only 69.3% voted in the 2020 election.
Back in 2016, 69.6% of the 52,000 registered voters cast their ballot.
The final voter turnout results can be viewed here.