Election brings 36,000 voters to polls in Buchanan County
By Ashley Luthans
Buchanan County voters turned out in force for Tuesday’s general election, with just over 68% of those registered casting ballots.
Unofficial results showed 36,135 residents voted early or on Election Day, according to the Buchanan County Clerk’s Office. Numbers at some of the smaller polling places in the southern and eastern parts of the county, including in Agency, DeKalb and Faucett, topped 70%.
Tuesday’s turnout is down slightly from the 2020 general election, where 69% of Buchanan County’s voters, or 36,950, cast ballots.
About 6,500 voters cast early ballots in this election.
Tuesday’s turnout was fueled by a tight presidential race. Locally, however, the race between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris wasn’t close, with the former president taking almost 63% of the vote in Buchanan County. In 2016, Trump bested Hillary Clinton with 59% of the vote, and in 2020, he took 61% of the ballots in the county.
Almost 56% of Buchanan County voters said yes to sports betting, but the abortion issue, Amendment 3, was close to 50/50, with only about 270 more residents approving the measure locally.
As he voted Tuesday, St. Joseph resident Jacob McMillian explained why he thinks voting is an important responsibility for American citizens.
“Ultimately, the laws of the land and those who oversee us and those who set the direction are elected,” McMillian said. “And so, ultimately we want our voices to be heard. We want our opinions and desires, our moral positions to be put in place, and the way you do that is to vote for the candidates who are gonna put those forward.”
Calvin Haynes, another St. Joseph resident, said voting is the best way to make your voice heard and make a difference.
“Everyone sure likes to complain about things and so everyone should make sure that they also equally have a voice in fixing the problem, not just complaining about the problem,” Haynes said.
McMillian said everyone eligible to vote should, regardless of their age.
“Every generation has to realize that, the immense responsibility we have to participate in government,” McMillian said. “And when we don’t do that, that’s when you’re gonna get lopsided government and you’re going to get a country that isn’t honoring the Founding Fathers’ desires. And so I just think the responsibility for every generation to vote needs to be emphasized today.”
