By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Voters in St. Joseph will be headed to the polls today to vote on a school bond issue, school board members, a library tax issue, as well as proposed city charter changes.
However, Buchanan County Clerk Mary Baack Garvey is only expecting voter turnout to tick up slightly from last year's April election
"Last year for the April election we almost hit 13%, and the ballot is somewhat similar to what it was last year," Baack Garvey tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, I'm hoping we have an uptick in turnout, always for our local elections, so 15% it is."
Baack Garvey says local elections do typically see a lower turnout than a national election, though she's not sure why
"They affect us right away immediately as a local level election, so you would think that we would have a better turnout for these tax issues and such, but I don't know why people just really only want to vote for President," Baack Garvey says. "It's just the way it's been, that's the trend, I wish people would start coming out more in these local elections."
Issues on today's ballot include voting on three new school board members. A $20 million bond issue for the school district, and a reduced tax levy for the Rolling Hills Library. The city also has seven proposed changes to the city charter.
Baack Garvey says as voters head to the polls, they should be sure to know what exactly they are voting for.
"They need to do their homework and see who they want to vote for and turnout each election," Baack Garvey says.
Polls opened at 6am and will close at 7pm. You can contact the Buchanan County Clerk's office if you are unsure of your polling location.
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