Voter turnout in Barton County Tuesday was 38.34%, Barton County Election Clerk Donna Zimmerman said. That was higher than expected and Zimmerman said she believes the large number of advance and mail-in ballots may have contributed to that.

On July 31, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said the turnout projection for the Aug. 4 primary was 28%.

The COVID-19 pandemic contributed to the mail-in ballots but also created logistical challenges at the polls. Workers work masks, stayed behind partitions and practiced social distancing.

“It was a tough election,” she said Tuesday night. “But it went smoothly.”

The results are unofficial until the Barton County Commission sits as a board of canvassers on Monday. There were 54 provisional ballots and any ballot that was mailed with a postmark of Tuesday or earlier will be counted if received by 5 p.m. Friday.

Of the 16,092 registered voters, 9,584 are registered Republicans and 2,481 are registered Democrats, with an additional 4,027 registered nonpartisan voters. The turnout Tuesday was 55.12% for Republicans (5,283 ballots cast) and 35.75% for Democrats (887 ballots cast).