Voting was underway as the Advertiser went to press on Tuesday morning. Poll workers at the Howard County Courthouse reported a steady stream of voters, and a line formed at the door when polls opened at 6 a.m.

As of 8:50 a.m., 129 ballots had been cast at the courthouse, which is one of seven polling locations around the county. By the close of business on Monday, 215 absentee ballots had been cast.

Those numbers are a sharp uptick from the last primary election held in 2024, which had no local races. Only 65 votes had been cast in the first three hours, and 115 ballots were cast prior to election day, when only 27% of registered voters cast ballots.

This year’s GOP primary held two local county-wide races of interest, those for Presiding Commissioner and Treasurer. Fayette resident Brad Patty is also on the Republican ballot in a six-way race for the newly drawn District 5 in the U.S. House. Four proposed amendments to the Missouri Constitution also drew voters to the polls.

Tuesday’s results were to be “cried” from the courthouse steps by Mark Belcher as they became available after polls closed at 7 p.m. Local results were posted on the Advertiser’s website and social media pages when they became available. Full results will appear in next week’s edition.