Golden Triangle voter turnout was under 50 percent during Tuesday’s election.
Across Lowndes, Oktibbeha, Clay and Noxubee counties, 39,686 out of 87,938 voters went to the polls. That’s about 45 percent, according to area circuit clerk offices.
In Lowndes County, 17,859 ballots were cast among 38,832 registered voters.
Lowndes County Circuit Clerk Haley Salazar, who did not seek re-election this year, said while turnout was higher than the primary votes, there is still ample room for improvement.
“It’s better than what we’ve seen in some recent elections,” Salazar told The Dispatch on Wednesday. “You don’t want to say that is a great turnout, because that’s still not even 50 percent. We still need to work on getting those numbers up. I’d say it’s a good start, but we’ve got a long way to go to get all the people back participating in the system.”
She said the 2008 presidential election that gave President Barak Obama his first term was the most voted on race in her tenure.
Tuesday, Clay County posted the region’s highest turnout rate, as 7,931 out of 14,436 registered voters went to polls. That’s just over 51 percent.
Noxubee County posted the region’s lowest turnout rate, as 3,792 out of 9,388 registered voters voted. That’s about 40 percent.
In Oktibbeha County, 10,644 out of 25,582 registered voters, or 42 percent, cast ballots. The Oktibbeha County Circuit Clerk office still has about 400 affidavit and absentee ballots to count as of Thursday morning.
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