Voter turnout lowest in KC area

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP Modified) - Voter turnout at Tuesday's primaries was about 23 percent in both Kansas and Missouri, according to state officials, with some of the lowest turnouts in the Kansas City metropolitan area.

In Missouri, where voter turnout was identical to the 2010 primary, the lowest voter numbers were recorded in Boone County and in the Kansas City area, according to the secretary of state's office.

The top draw in Missouri was a constitutional amendment expanding the right to pray in public places, which attracted a total of nearly 943,000 votes while easily passing.

About twice as many people cast Republican ballots as Democratic ballots -- led by the GOP race for U.S. Senate, won by Congressman Todd Akin.

In Kansas, the 23 percent voter turnout was about 5 percent higher than projections from Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Kobach said turnout spiked in areas with hotly contested state Senate primaries.

Greeley County in western Kansas had the highest turnout, nearly 65 percent. The county lies in the 39th Senate District, where Senate President Steve Morris, a moderate Republican, trailed in final results for his primary race against conservative state Representative Larry Powell.

Wyandotte County, home of Kansas City, Kansas had the lowest turnout at 11 percent.