Tuesday’s midday voter turnout for the primary elections in Dallas County got off to a slow start.

At Selma Mall, 80 residents voted in their precinct. Chief Inspector Bill Neighbors wasn’t surprised at the low number.

“It’s about where I’d expect,” Neighbors said. “It’s been fair. We had 405 people vote here in last year’s election.”

David White, the Chief Inspector at the Christian Outreach Alliance voting area, had slow numbers. At Noon, they had 160 people vote.

“It’s been light,” White said. “We should’ve been between 200 and 250 people voting at this point. The more turnout means more people are interested in the local government.”

Memorial Stadium Chief Inspector Dusty Brown, however, was upbeat. They had 193 people vote by Noon and Brown expects the numbers to increase.

“It’s been steady and we anticipate a bigger turnout later today,” Brown said. “I’m pleased with these numbers because it’s only a run-off election. More people vote in the general election than a run-off.”

At the Dallas County Courthouse, they had 77 people vote by Noon.

“I wish the numbers were heavier,” Dallas County courthouse chief inspector Suzanne Ingram said. “It’s been a light turnout.”

Neighbors, however, remain optimistic the number of voters will increase throughout the afternoon across the county by the time polls close at 7 p.m.

“We still have the afternoon to go,” Neighbors said. “We could have an influx of people rushing in to vote.”

Ingram is also hopeful. “We’re hoping for a heavier turnout this afternoon.”

Based on information received by the state of Alabama, there are 31,770 registered voters in Dallas County.