By Tim SchmidtRecord Managing EditorAfter election polls closed and workers dropped off results last week, one thing was clear: voter participation was much higher than expected.Of the 21,829 registered voters, 7,463 went to the polls and cast a ballot in the Aug. 5 primary election.The 34 percent turnout was the highest in an August primary sine 2004, according to County Clerk Barb Daly.Prior to last week’s election, Daly predicted turnout to be somewhere between 25 and 30 percent.“I was happy with the turnout,” she said. “It was more than in the past and what I expected. I appreciate the turnout.”Six county races were decided last week, in which two incumbents — Presiding Commissioner Arden Engelage and Prosecuting Attorney Jennifer Bartlett — were defeated by Coroner Roger Mauzy and Kelly King, respectively.Multiple Republican candidates sought to win seats for county collector and treasurer, two positions where the two longtime incumbents decided to not seek another term. Julie Schaumberg beat out three other candidates for collector, while Public Administrator Jeff Hoelscher won the treasurer’s race.Incumbents who kept their seats were Circuit Clerk Brenda Eggering and Associate Circuit Judge Mike Wright.Last week’s ballot include a proposed 15-cent tax increase for the Warrenton Fire Protection District, which was overwhelmingly rejected by voters, and five statewide constitutional amendments related to farming, transportation, firearms, lottery and civil rights.In 2012, the turnout for the August primary was 20 percent when no county offices were contested and the ballot was mostly filled with statewide races. In 2008 and 2010, the voter turnout was 27 and 30 percent, respectively.In 2004, when the turnout hit 41 percent, the August ballot had Republican races for Southern District commissioner, Northern District commissioner, assessor and public administrator, along with Bob Holden and Claire McCaskill battling it out for the Democratic nomination for governor. Constitutional amendments related to marriage and gambling were also on the ballot.Daly said last week’s election went smooth for the most part, though she did note that several voters failed to notify the clerk’s office with address changes and showed up at the wrong polling place. She urged voters to always review their voter registration card prior to any election to make sure everything is updated and correct.“We would be happy to help them out,” Daly said. “It would alleviate a lot of problems for us.”She complimented her staff, other county employees and poll workers who helped out during Election Day.“It takes a team,” she said. “It was a team effort.”Election Notes• So which precinct had the highest voter turnout? Gore-Case, located in the southwest corner of the county, had 81 ballots cast of 149 registered voters, or 54.36 percent. Concord Hill followed with a 54.28 percent turnout, followed by Innsbrook (54.10 percent), Holstein/Smith Creek (43.65 percent) and Weeks (41.51 percent).Wright City Ward 1 had the lowest turnout of any precinct, with 20.26 percent casting a ballot.• Circuit Clerk Brenda Eggering and Julie Schaumberg tallied the most votes in every precinct in their respective races. Meanwhile, the Warrenton fire district’s tax initiative was defeated by voters in every precinct.• Winning precincts doesn’t mean you’re a shoe-in to win, however. Incumbent Arden Engelage had the most votes in 13 precincts compared to Roger Mauzy’s nine. But in the end it was Mauzy who came out on top.By the NumbersThe percentage of voters who cast a ballot in the Aug. 5 election was the highest for a primary since 2004, according to county records. Below is the voter turnout in August elections since 2000:2014 — 34%2012 — 20%2010 — 30%2008 — 27%2006 — 19%2004 — 41%2002 — 31%2000 — 22%County turnout hits 36 percentPhoto by Jerry Fallstrom/Orlando Sentinel