In November, there were record turnouts across the country during the presidential election.
Tuesday’s vote by comparison will probably come nowhere near those numbers, according to numbers seen at the polling places.
But when it comes to the hot button issues in Poplar Bluff, one item on the ballot seemed to be rather important to those that did show up.
The city’s proposed local use tax — which would allow the city to collect sales tax on certain online purchases the same way sales tax is collected at local brick and mortar businesses — was on the mind of several voters the Daily American Republic spoke with.
Leonda Moffit cast her vote in Ward 4 at the Temple Baptist Annex and had this to say, “We feel like that’s an important issue to vote on, many times it’s been voted on and it’s been shut down. Hopefully this time it will pass.”
John MacDonald, who also voted in Ward 4 at the Temple Baptist Annex, felt the use tax makes sense.
“You don’t want the city to run out of money for paying police and fire. They need the money, and more people spend money online and that money doesn’t get to the city. And it’s not that much tax, what is it one percent or something? It’s not that much,” he said.
Janice Desgranges, voting in Ward 2 at the Kay M. Porter Theater, stressed the importance of keeping the city funded.
“I firmly believe whether you buy something locally or you buy it online, you should pay a tax for it,” she said. “It goes to the police department, the fire department, the art museum, and these all need help desperately. It helps the community and keeping these funded is a severe problem in Poplar Bluff right now.”
The Poplar Bluff School Board of Education election was also on the mind of voters.
Voting in Ward 2, Sam Christy explained why he voted and the importance of the local school board race.
“I’ve voted in every election since I turned 21 and I feel it’s important for people to do their civic duty,” he said. “I’m a former elementary school principal and I feel it’s important to keep good people on the school board.”
Don Wilcoxon who voted in Ward 4 felt the council races were the most important to him.
“Every election is important, and I particularly wanted to vote for the usage tax, but I was most interested in the council races,” he said. “I want to make sure we have people on the council that are honest and best represent our city, so city hall is the biggest thing I’m concerned with. I look at their background and whether or not they represent the things I’m interested in.”
To Desgranges, the responsibility of voting is something she stressed to her students during her career as an educator and why she never misses an opportunity to vote.
“It’s our responsibility to vote. I taught government classes and I’m still teaching a class called I’m A Citizen Too for the Poplar Bluff School District,” she said. “One of the things I tell my kids is when they turn 18 that they promise me they will go out and vote at the first possible election they qualify for. So, I need to walk the walk.”