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Low voter turnout in school board elections
Posted: 09.13.2011 at 4:33 PM
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OTTUMWA, IOWA -- On Tuesday, Sept. 13, Iowa voters headed to the polls to vote in local school board elections. 

In Ottumwa, five candidates are vying for four seats on the Board of Director's.

So far, voter turnout has been dismal.

KTVO cameras stopped by the 5th Precinct at the Wapello County Courthouse around 11 a.m. to speak to Wapello County Auditor Kelly Spurgeon.  Spurgeon said that from 7 to 10:30 a.m., only 134 people casted their vote in eight of the ten Ottumwa Precincts. In the 5th Precinct, up until 11:30 a.m., only 27 people showed up to cast their vote. Spurgeon says these numbers are right on par with 2009's low turnout.

"We're probably like 70 voters under from what we had at 10:30 a.m. in 2009. "

She says she doesn't understand why turnout is so low year after year.

"You should vote if you want to elect a board member to your school district. The school districts do receive quite a bit of voter tax dollars so it's important that people get out and vote."

Spurgeon said that this year, there are a little over 20,000 registered voters in Wapello county.

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