Missouri Primary Results 2012: Live Updates

Republican voters in Missouri went to the polls on Tuesday to cast ballots in the state's non-binding primary contest.

(Click here to check out HuffPost's Missouri primary results map, which will update with real-time data as the numbers come in.)

The election is symbolic as Missouri's 52 delegates will not be awarded after the results come in. Rather, they will be allocated through a process beginning with a caucus on March 17.

HuffPost's Max Rosenthal relays background on the state's voting system:

The confusing system is a result of a fight between the RNC and the states. When Florida decided last year to move its primary up to Jan. 31, it created a rush of date changes by states that wanted to stay relevant in the nomination process. Missouri was one of them. In May 2011, the Missouri legislature changed state law, mandating that the primary be held on the first Tuesday after the first Monday of February, which is Feb. 7 this year.

But the RNC wanted to preserve the traditional primary calendar, telling states that they would lose half of their delegates in the final count if they moved their primaries ahead of March 6.

Stuck between state law and the national party, Missouri Republicans attempted to split the difference. Because the primary was legally necessary, they left the February contest in place. But to satisfy the RNC and avoid penalties, they moved the actual delegate selection to a newly created March caucus.

According to the Associated Press, Tuesday's event will cost taxpayers an estimated $7 million.

Check out the live blog below for the latest developments out of Missouri.