The polls are open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. Tuesday for Missouri’s presidential primary, but the election will not play a role in determining the apportionment of delegates for the Republican party nomination — that will take place during next month’s caucuses.
New national party rules required states to move their primaries back further in the year, said Missouri Republican Party spokesman Jonathan Prouty.
The Republican Party’s rules prohibit any state other than Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina or Nevada from holding a primary or caucus prior to March 6, with a penalty of only half of an offending state’s delegates counted at the national convention.
“Super Tuesday was becoming so crowded with so many states wanting to go on that day that it was almost becoming a national primary,” Prouty said. “There were enough delegates allocated on that day that conceivably a candidate could secure the nomination.”
Ryan Hobart, a spokesman for Missouri Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, said Missouri law mandates that the state must hold a primary election.
Last year, legislators passed a bill to delay the primary, but Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed it because of concerns about provisions in the bill unrelated to the election. As a result, Missouri’s primary will be non-binding and the caucuses will award delegates for the national convention.
“I certainly think that caucus-goers who are participating in March will be interested to know how either their country or their state voted,” Prouty said.
Missouri has an open primary, meaning that voters do not have to register as members of a certain political party in order to participate. Four Democratic candidates, 10 Republicans and one Libertarian are on the ballot.
Republican candidate Newt Gingrich opted not to add his name to the ballot, a decision that MU Department of Political Science chairman John Petrocik said will not have an effect on his overall campaign.
So far, the only Republican candidate to have campaigned in Missouri is Rick Santorum, who spoke at Grace Bible Church in Columbia last Friday night.
Hobart said the primary will cost around $7 million. He said voter turnout is estimated at 23 percent.
“Primary turnout is almost always very low, typically below a third of the eligible electorate,” Petrocik said. “It is reasonable to believe interest is low and turnout will be lower than average for Missouri presidential primaries.”
MU freshman Hannah Reese said she thought about voting in the primary, but was dissuaded when she realized the votes would not officially count for anything.
Freshman Katelyn Lutz said she will be casting her vote today and has been encouraging her friends to go out and do the same.
“I feel it’s disrespectful to not take the time to vote when the candidates are putting so much time and effort into the election process,” Lutz said. “By voting, I feel like it will give them a clearer understanding of how they stand in Missouri.”
Lutz said she will definitely participate in the Republican caucus as well.
“We hope that people do come out and vote because any time that they go to the polls and make their voices heard, it has an impact on the process and could impact even the caucus in March on the Republican side,” Hobart said.