Articles & Education

This year, Missourians will have the chance to make their voices heard at the polls, but it will happen sooner than you think.

Much of the election coverage in the news focuses on the November ballot — with control of the White House and Congress up for grabs — but don’t write off Missouri’s primary elections this August. These primary races are just as, or even more, important to Missourians’ daily lives than the general election.

“I want people to vote. I want people to be involved in governance and to understand the importance of governance,” said Jon D. Doolittle, Missouri Hospital Association President and CEO.

Unfortunately, voter turnout in the August primaries often is lower than in the general elections. In the August 2020 statewide primaries, nearly 33% of Missouri’s registered voters cast a ballot compared to about 70% who went to the polls in the November 2020 general election.

Primaries are crucial because they decide who the candidates will be in the November election. When voter turnout is low in the primary, the candidates on the November ballot only reflect the views of the minority who cast ballots, not the majority who will be affected.

In some cases, the results of the November general election are determined in August as the winner of the primary occasionally faces no opponent in the general election. In addition, states such as Missouri where one party is overwhelmingly the choice of general election voters, Republican primary election victors are most likely to win the general election.

Voting in the August primary – whether in person or by absentee ballot – will provide a more accurate reflection of Missourians’ views in November. You don’t have to be registered as a Republican or Democrat to participate. Missouri has open primaries, which means voters may request either a Republican or Democratic ballot, regardless of their past choices.

The Missouri Hospital Association has endorsed two candidates in the Aug. 6 primary. Both candidates were selected for their track records and values that align with Missouri’s hospitals. The policies that our elected officials establish will shape the health care landscape in Missouri for the foreseeable future and will have broad-reaching consequences for hospitals and the patients and communities they serve across Missouri.

“We are working with hospital leaders throughout the state to help them plan to make sure their staff can get out and vote and to make sure their patients who are in hospitals on election day have the opportunity to participate in this incredibly important process,” Doolittle said. “We want to provide as much education as we can to make sure that we have a good turnout on Aug. 6.”

Learn more about Missouri’s elections, and remember to vote Tuesday, Aug. 6.

Paid for by the Missouri Hospital Association, Jon D. Doolittle, President and CEO