Voter turnout in Missouri lower than expected

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)

Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said Missouri saw a voter turnout of 51% for Tuesday’s election.

Ashcroft said his office was expecting 55-56% voter turnout. More than 2 million votes were cast in the election.

Ashcroft said the total is down from the 2018 senate election.

"I think that we're going to see maybe from Missourians it's more of an emphasis on August primaries and people are saying, 'You know what? It's already decided. Uh, I've already made done what I could in the primary. It's locked in because I'm in a blue district or I'm in a red state,'” Ashcroft said. “And I think that that probably has contributed to people not participating."

The election results will not be official until noon Friday when military and overseas ballots are due.