Last month’s election had the highest primary voter turnout in Jackson County history, county officials confirmed Monday.

More than 12,130 people in the county voted Feb. 5, which surpasses the previous record set in March 1998 by 1,250 people, said County Clerk Larry Reinhardt. All three parties that appear on the Jackson County ballot saw an increase.

The number of younger-aged voters remained the same despite expectations from political critics that it would be higher in support of U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination. Reinhardt said 16.6 percent of registered voters between the ages of 18 and 25 submitted a ballot last month.

Advertisement

More than 83 percent of the Democratic vote in precincts set up for SIUC students living on campus and Evergreen Terrace was for the state’s junior Senator from Chicago.

The previous record set in 1998 was the same year current SIU President Glenn Poshard, then a U.S. Congressman from Marion, ran as a Democratic nominee for governor.

Reinhardt said the county averages around 24,000 voters during a presidential election in November, but it is likely records will be broken in the fall if Obama is the Democratic presidential candidate.

Daily Egyptian writer Barton Lorimor can be reached at 536-3311 ext. 274 or [email protected].