Missouri Town, Including Candidates on Ballot, Cast Zero Votes in Local Election

Nobody in the the Jasper County town of La Russell, Missouri, voted on Tuesday. That includes the candidates on the ballot.

Local elections in April generally suffer from low voter turnout, but in La Russell (population: 70) it can't get lower.

The Joplin Globe reported that Ray Miller and Brandy Carter, who were running unopposed to fill open seats on the La Russell Board of Trustees, didn't even vote for themselves. With no votes recorded, the board will have to consult state law on how the seats should be filled, according to Jasper County Clerk Charlie Davis.

Aside from the board vote, the main issue of the election was to decide whether La Russell should annex itself into the Avilla Fire Protection District. Davis said his office checked in repeatedly to confirm there were zero votes.

La Russell's voters have to travel seven miles to neighboring Sarcoxie to vote. According to the Joplin Globe, the election was poorly advertised.

For more reporting from the Associated Press, see below:

John Carver, a resident of La Russell for 50 years, said he didn't see any flyers about the election.

"I worked until 10 p.m.," Carver said. "It was too late to drive to Sarcoxie to vote. I work in the field and do whatever, run parts for semis, whatever it takes to keep things going. Plus, hardly anyone knew about the vote."

Deborah Burton, La Russell city clerk and wife of Mayor Rick Burton, said her husband was in the hospital until Wednesday after he became ill last week.

"I was there with him, so I guess we didn't throw up the flag and let everyone know there was an election, so nobody went," she said. "I don't know what to think."

The main ballot question was whether La Russell should annex itself into the Avilla Fire Protection District. With no voters, the question failed, Davis said.

Burton said she and her husband helped gather signatures in December and January to put the question on the ballot and "Everyone said they were all for it and they would vote."

Avilla Fire Chief Tim Gunter said his district has provided a truck and local volunteers at a small station in La Russell for years. But when Avilla voters created a property tax-funded fire district in June 2020, it raised the question of whether he could use Avilla tax dollars to protect La Russell.

After consulting with the fire district's board and attorneys, Gunter said Wednesday that La Russell will continue to have fire protection until the issue can be put back on the ballot in a future election.