WEAK VOTER TURNOUT IN NORTHEAST NEBRASKA

Nebraska's top election official says turnout for Tuesday's primary topped 25 percent, and the percentage will grow once all provisional ballots are counted.

Secretary of State John Gale says he was pleasantly surprised by the number of registered voters who showed up at the polls.

Preliminary figures show 24 counties had at least 35 percent turnout. Boone County had the highest, with nearly 60 percent of registered voters casting a ballot.

The weakest turnout was here in northeast Nebraska, where Thurston County had less than 15 per cent turnout and Dakota county was second worst at just over 15 per cent.

Gale predicted a very high turnout for the November general election, which will include the presidential contest and a nationally watched U.S. Senate race between Democrat Bob Kerrey andRepublican Deb Fischer.

Associated Press contributed to this report.