Abby Cambiano
Northeast News

Missourians made some tough decisions yesterday at the polls. Below is a summary of some of the races, propositions and amendments that were up for vote:

– The State of Missouri Election Board reports that Josh Hawley (R) beat Incumbent Claire McCaskill (D) 1,245,732 to 1,101,377, or 51.4 percent to 45.5 percent. In Kansas City, McCaskill pulled ahead with nearly 80 percent of the vote.

– Incumbent Emanuel Cleaver (D) defeated Jacob Turk (R) 56,913 to 51,616 in yesterday’s race for United States Representative from District 5.

– State Representative for the 19th District Ingrid Burnett (D) beat out Green Party candidate Val Engholm 1,318 to 608.

– Frank White, Jr. (D) won Jackson County Executive by a wide margin against Nathan Kline (G). He will be getting a raise since Question No. 2 passed.

– Darryl Forte (D) won out over David Bernal (R) in the race for Sheriff. Forte will also be getting a raise per Question No. 3.

– For State Auditor, Nicole Galloway (D) beat Saundra McDowell (R) with 77,855 votes to 61,533.

– The Kansas City Public Library District Question passed with overwhelming support, 4,558 to 1,979, so revitalization of the public libraries will begin soon.

– According to Unofficial Election Results from the Jackson County Election Board, of the seven questions on the ballot to amend the Jackson County Charter, questions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 passed, some by narrow margins. Questions 6 did not. These can be reviewed on our website (LINK) or the in the October 31 issue of the Northeast News.

– Amendment 1, otherwise known as Clean Missouri, passed with 72 percent in favor with 105,035 “yes” votes. The amendment will make changes to Missouri’s lobbying laws, impose campaign finance limits for state legislative candidates, and make changes to the legislative redistricting process.

– Amendment 4 passed with 73,544 votes in favor and 65,088 against. It changes the requirement to manage bingo games and to advertise at bingo games.

– Proposition B (Minimum Wage) passes with 61.89 percent of the vote. By 2019 the minimum wage will increase by 75 cents. Over the following four years, the minimum wage will increase by 85 cents until it ultimately reaches $12 in 2023.

– Proposition D, the Gas Tax, flopped. Voters decided not to tax themselves an additional 10 cents, losing by nearly 5,400 votes. The proposition would have also exempted Olympic prizes from state taxes and created a dedicated fund for certain road projects to reduce traffic bottlenecks that affect freight.

Voter turnout in Jackson County was 67.3 percent, which is 151,947 of the 225,775 registered. In 2016, Jackson County had a 67.47 percent turnout. Nearly 50 percent of registered voters in Kansas City, Missouri turned out to cast their ballots, which was 112,253 of the 226,743 registered.