Missourians did their part, comparatively speaking, in voting during the 2006 elections. Still, the numbers of state voting-age residents that go to the polls seem sadly low.

A report released Tuesday by the Census Bureau, titled "Voting and Registration in the Election of November 2006," showed Missouri above the national percentage of people who voted in that "off-year" election. In fact, the state ranked 17th nationally with 54 percent of voting-age residents who cast a ballot.

The report indicated that Missouri had about 4.3 million people eligible to vote, with about 74 percent of them registered. More than 2.3 million voted in 2006.

In Kansas, both registration and participation numbers were lower. On the 1.9 million Kansans 18 and over, about 66 percent were registered and roughly 46 took part in the November 2006 election.

(Kansas ranked 32nd among the states in voting participation that year, below the national number.)

Generally, the report pointed out a national increase in interest for the non-presidential year congressional elections. Roughly 96 million people voted in 2006, an increase of 7 million from 2002.

Voter participation in presidential election years is historically higher, making comparisons with the 2004 balloting insignificant.

Missouri's higher voter participation in 2006 might have benefited from a pair of high-profile ballot entries: the U.S. Senate election between Republican Jim Talent and Democrat Claire McCaskill, and the stem-cell amendment.

According to the Census Bureau findings, four of 10 who didn't vote in 2006 cited conflicts in schedules or illness. About 20 percent declared a disinterest in voting or a dislike of the candidates.

While the 48 percent of voting-age citizens who cast ballots in 2006 represented the highest off-year participation since 1994, no one breaks out the boasts. With a holiday approaching that celebrates the nation's liberties, the freedom to vote seems too often under-used.