This post first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon: August 5, 2008 - The man who heads St. Louis' largest center for senior citizens says it's hard to know just how much the scorching August heat -- Lambert recorded a high of 96 degrees -- affected voter turnout in Tuesday's primary election.
But he knows that it kept at least a few of his clients from venturing out into the blistering temperatures to exercise their democratic rights.
"One of our drivers was taking a group of our women home, and she offered to drop them by the polls," said Mike Howard, executive director of Five Star Senior Center, 2832 Arsenal St. "But they told her it was too hot to vote today. They wanted to go straight home.
"There were probably only four or five of them, but these are women who really care, who know the importance of a voting," said Howard. "And they said they didn't want to do it."
Five Star serves meals to about 65 area senior citizens at its center each day and delivers another 400 to 500 meals to homebound clients, Howard said. He said homebound clients interested in voting would have cast absentee ballots.
The unusually hot day "very definitely" had an impact on voter turnout Tuesday, said Dick Bauer, assistant director of the St. Louis County Board of Elections.
"Who wants to be out in 100-degree weather?"
But, Bauer said he believes that many more people stayed home simply out of apathy or because they don't understand the importance of a primary election.
By mid-afternoon on Tuesday, Bauer was forecasting that some 20 to 25 percent of the county's eligible voters would cast ballots by the close of polls at 7 p.m. The number was in line with past August elections, he said. An August election two summers ago had a 15.5 percent turnout. An August election in 2002 had a turnout of 26.2 percent in the county.
Only the August 2004 election showed a dramatic spike in voter turnout. Bauer said that turnout (44.4 percent) likely was because of two particularly controversial issues on the ballot --- one that saw voters effectively ban gay marriage in the state and another that saw voters reject casino gambling in the Rockaway Beach area of Branson.
Bauer said he made a point to get out into the community last week to ask area residents about the primary. He said most of those he spoke with "hadn't even looked at a ballot yet."
In the city of St. Louis, an election official estimated a turnout between 25 and 30 percent.
Gary Stoff, deputy Republican director for the city's Board of Elections, said that number was near the 31 percent estimated earlier this week by the Missouri secretary of state's office.
"It's hard to tell if the heat is keeping anyone away," he said. "I hope not."
If the turnout falls much below projections -- to near 15 percent -- he said heat may have played a factor. But he said people should wait for final statistics.
"This looks like it will be consistent with other August primaries," he said.
He noted that the city was asked to supply about "six or seven" fans to city schools without full air conditioning that were designated polling places. That was done early Tuesday. He said he was aware of no other heat problems directly affecting polling places in the city.