JoCo Commission votes to allocate more funds to elections office to cover 2022 cycle
The Johnson County Commission voted Thursday to approve nearly $680,000 in reserve funding be used to cover increased costs from the 2022 election cycle, due in large part to unprecedented voter turnout levels in the August primary.
Commissioners voted 5-1 to use $678,000 of reserve funds to help cover those increased costs, which elections staff said was a result of increased voter registration and turnout as well as the addition of nine advance voting sites. Money allocated in the 2022 budget used estimates based on the past gubernatorial race.
Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara voted against the proposal, and Commissioner Jeff Myers was absent.
The action comes after record-setting voter turnout, especially during the August primary, when voters across the state participated in larger numbers than usual to decisively vote against an amendment that would have allowed for more restrictions on abortion. In Johnson County specifically, about 256,000 voters participated in the primary, compared to around 121,000 who turned out for the 2018 primary.
Staff said the increase in participation required the county to hire 100 new election workers for election day, as well as 300 new workers for the advance voting cycle to staff the new sites. Poll workers are paid $110 a day, and supervising judges earn $135 a day.
Other spending increases included more print and mail-in ballots, materials and training for new election workers and printing costs for a longer ballot required for the general election that prevented the use of existing ballot stock.
O’Hara asked that the board wait until after the Thanksgiving break to consider the measure to have more information on voter counts and a breakdown of the cost increase. Commissioner Michael Ashcraft seconded and voted for O’Hara’s motion, but it ultimately failed.
Commissioner Janeé Hanzlick, who voted in favor of the measure, also asked if board members could receive a cost breakdown.
A few community members spoke against the measure during a public comment section, falsely claiming widespread fraud within the elections office and questioned how the office would use the increase in funds. They also asked the public be provided with detailed breakdowns that show how the money will be spent.
Their concerns come amid an ongoing investigation by Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden into unfounded claims of voter fraud. Since March 2021, Hayden has not been able to publicly provide any evidence of fraud, though election deniers have continued to back his claims.
This story was originally published November 17, 2022 at 4:32 PM.
