Voter Turnout in Ames City Election Less Than 12 Percent.

Voter turnout for Tuesday's election, which included a bond referendum for an Ames Public Library expansion project was just 11.7 percent, according to information from the Story County Auditor's Office.

This was less than in the September school board election, where as many as 16 percent of registered voters cast a ballot.

The auditor's office reported that 473 absentee ballots were requested for all of the county's elections on Tuesday. In September, voters requested 571 ballots, said Kristy Macki, an election assistant.

By 11 a.m. Tuesday less than 4 percent of registered voters in Ames had cast a ballot.

Voting activity was slightly higher in Ward 4, where voters had a candidate to choose from.

More than 10 percent of registered voters had cast a ballot at , precinct 4-2, just before 2 p.m. Tuesday.

“We've been steady since 7 a.m. this morning even though it was rainy and cold,” said Barb Negri, chairwoman of the precinct.

By the end of Tuesday evening, turnout in Negri's precinct was 20 percent.

However turnout at 4th Ward precincts on 's campus were virtually zero. A total of seven people voted at Maple Hall and the Union Drive Community Center.

Everyone in Ward 4 will have the chance to vote again in early for a runoff election between Chuck Jons and Victoria Szopinski, the top vote-getters for the 4th Ward council seat.

Turnout was also high in Ward 2, where incumbent Jami Larson ran unopposed. Turnout in precinct 2-4, , was 24.3 percent, and turnout in 2-5, Somerset Clubhouse, was 16.01 percent.

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