Now that the 45,000 municipal election ballots are in the mail, election officials are predicting that the turnout will only be 25 percent.

Election Administrator Rebecca Connors said on Monday that because the race only deals with the Mayor's Office and the Missoula City Council, the expected turnout would only be between 20 and 25 percent.

Connors said she and her colleagues have been continually frustrated over the apparent apathy of voters.

"In 2015, when we had the big $158 million school bond issue on the ballot, I think we had about 20,000 ballots that weren't returned, and that was 20,000 people who just weren't inclined to vote, or they didn't feel like their vote was worth anything," said Connors. "So, we're trying to change that perception."

Here are the numbers.

45,000 ballots mailed. If 25 percent of the ballots are returned, that would result in approximately 11,250 people who will vote. To win the mayoral race, a candidate would only need 51 percent of the votes, that's approximately 5,800.

In a city of 72,000, it will only take a little over 5,800 voters to decide how Missoula will be run for the next four years.

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