Voters Turn Out to Polls in Display of Civic Pride

A mix of voters cast their ballots for Kirkwood and Webster Groves school board candidates and a county assessor this morning in a display of civic pride.

Four candidates, , , and incumbent are vying for three open seats on the Kirkwood Board of Education.

In Webster Groves, four candidates, , , incumbent and incumbent are competing for three open seats on the Webster Groves Board of Education.  faces Democratic candidate and three-term Missouri State Rep.  (83rd District) in the first ever .

Meckes, a certified public accountant, garnered the support of one voter who cast her ballot at Geyer Road Baptist Church in Kirkwood early this morning.

“I heard her speak at the ,” Lucy Ryan, of Kirkwood, said. “She seems to really want the office, and I think she’ll do a good job.” Ryan said that she was impressed with Meckes' work experience.

The polling station is home to the highest number of registered voters in Kirkwood with 2,023 residents assigned to vote at the church. It also produces a higher voter turnout than the county average historically, said Keith Berra, who has supervised elections at the polling location for the past eight years.

This morning, voter turnout was less than in years past, but still, a steady procession of voters walked through the polling room doors between 6:30 and 7:30 a.m.

“We anticipated it would be light,” Berra said, adding that about 15-20 percent of voters countywide typically make it to the polls during election years when only local issues are on the ballots.

The election supervisor predicted that 25-30 percent of registered voters would cast their ballots at Geyer Road Baptist Church before polls close at 7 p.m.

Voters varied widely in age. Sheran Cronin, 73, has not missed an election in 52 years. “I’m amazed when I see pictures on TV of people in other countries lining up for days to vote,” the Kirkwood resident who votes at Geyer Baptist said. “In America, we can’t take five minutes to vote.”

On the other end of the age spectrum, the polling station at the probably saw the youngest person to show up to the civic event. Keith Ziegelman brought his 2-year-old son to the polling station at about 8 a.m.

“I wanted to teach my son how to vote,” Ziegelman said. Apparently, the civic stop made an impression. His son said yes when his dad asked him if he learned about voting today.

Election supervisor at First Congressional Church of Webster Groves, Betsy Anderson, said turnout has been slow compared to years past. However, at 7:45 a.m., the station saw a small rush of voters as a steady stream of residents passed through the polling room doors.

“We’ll probably have a better turnout than what’s predicted on the news,” Anderson said. “Webster Groves is a very civic-minded community.”

Anderson had hoped that turnout would pick up a little bit before the end of the day.

In regards to the first ever assessor race, Anderson said she’s heard mixed reactions as to whether the face-off is bringing residents to the polls. “Some people care, but some people say they have never voted for an assessor before, so they’re not going to.”

Swano Berra, an election official at Geyer Road Baptist Church, is a former social studies teacher. She’s worked the polling station for about the past six years.

“I always stressed to my students that voting is a privilege and one to take advantage of,” she said.

Her election official peer, Earl Brightup, echoed the sentiment.

“Voting is a civic responsibility,” he said. “It’s one way of making your voice known. Whether the candidate you vote for wins or looses, it’s not as important as the process itself.”