BELLE — Low turnout at the polls on Tuesday morning will determine a two-way race in all three Belle Board of Aldermen positions. The annual municipal election also had one declared school board candidate for two open seats.

At 8:36 a.m., the Maries County Belle Precinct had 23 ballots cast — a long way from the 297 votes cast during the April 2023 election cycle.

Linda Tonze, an employee of St. Alexander Church, was present to cast her vote.

“More people should be interested in voting,” Tonze said.

The Osage County Belle Precinct had a total of 11 votes cast at 9:06 a.m. — two of which were held as the machine was down earlier that morning. Poll judges Cheryl Linhardt and Mary Newbound said the ballots would be hand-delivered to the county clerk at the close of the polls.

“We have 741 registered voters for this part of Osage County,” Newbound said.

“No clue how many are estimated to turn out,” Linhardt added.

At 9:50 a.m., the Bland/Canaan Precinct had 31 ballots cast. Dennis Frahm was serving his first cycle as an election judge.

“This is my first time being an election judge,” he said. “It’s an educational experience that more people ought to take part in. I was hesitant to do it, but glad my wife encouraged me to.”