Warren County voters were motivated to get out to the polls during last week’s primary elections, with nearly half of those registered casting ballots.There were just shy of 10,300 people who voted Aug. 7 or who submitted absentee ballots, according to the Warren County Clerk’s Office. That’s out of about 22,700 registered voters in the county.That equates to a 45 percent voter turnout, far ahead of the 30 percent that County Clerk Barb Daly said is typical of primary elections.“It’s a larger turnout than I thought it was going to be,” Daly said. “The election judges handled it beautifully, and the staff in the (county clerk’s) office did, too. We had a lot of questions and calls asking things like where to go to vote.”There were no major issues throughout the busy day, Daly said. She theorized that the major draws for voters were ballot propositions for Right to Work and two local fire taxes, as well as competitive races in the primaries for several local government offices.Based on ballot numbers, the biggest motivator for voters in the county probably was Proposition A, aka “Right to Work,” which was overwhelmingly rejected. The measure would have banned the practice of requiring employees to pay union dues.Not every voter casts a vote for every ballot issue. But of the 10,300 Warren County residents who voted, over 99 percent were counted as responding either yes or no to the Right to Work ballot question.Compare that to the primary race for the office of presiding commissioner of Warren County’s governing commission. In that race, about 84 percent of voters were counted as voting for any of the two Republicans or one Democrat running for the office.Proposed tax increases for the Warrenton and Wright City fire protection districts also drew relatively high interest. About 4,600 people voted on the Warrenton Fire measure, and about 3,100 in the Wright City Fire proposal. Both proposals were rejected.Daly said having competitive races for multiple local offices likely brought more voters to the polls as well. Those offices include the presiding commissioner, the presiding judge who oversees courts in Warren, Montgomery and Audrain counties, and several other positions.Statewide, about one-third, or 33.5 percent, of Missouri voters cast ballots, according to the Missouri Secretary of State’s Office. That compares to about 25 percent turnout in the 2014 and 2016 primaries.“While more voters went to the polls ... there are still many who did not,” said Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft. “I urge all eligible Missourians to participate in our democratic process and vote. If you’re not registered, there’s time to do so before the November general election — the deadline to register is Oct. 10.”Warren County residents who want more information about registering to vote can call the Warren County Clerk’s office at 636-456-3331.Daly said the turnout at November’s election likely will depend on what ends up on the ballot. The last day for ballot issues to be submitted is Aug. 28, she said.Election filing