Ready to vote in the Frank White recall election? What to know before the polls
Jackson County voters who didn’t cast an early or absentee ballot are gearing up to head to the polls for Tuesday’s special election to potentially recall County Executive Frank White.
White, a Democrat, was a Hall of Fame-awarded baseball player for the Kansas City Royals and a county legislator before he was appointed as temporary county executive in 2016. He was then elected to the seat full-time later that year and served for nearly a decade before more than 43,000 residents submitted signatures in June, triggering an election to potentially remove him from office.
White’s opponents have criticized his handling of various county issues including a dramatic uptick in residential and commercial property assessment values, a six-month delay on the passage of the 2025 budget, alleged mismanagement of federal funding and poor relations with legislators.
White and his supporters have said they feel he’s being scapegoated as punishment for standing in the way of an effort to pass a county sales tax for the Kansas City Chiefs and Royals, and that his potential successors would further divide county leadership.
Here’s how to vote in the recall election if you haven’t already, and what to expect when polls close.
How and where to vote
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday, and voters must bring a valid form of photo identification.
Fewer polling places than usual will be open across the metro on Election Day, particularly in Kansas City. Many polling places are hosted in schools or other public buildings.
Residents had until Sept. 3 to register to vote and until Sept. 17 to request an absentee ballot in Kansas City. Anyone still holding onto an absentee ballot must fill it out and turn it in by the close of polls on Tuesday.
Residents voting Tuesday will have to report to their assigned precinct, which may be different than what it would typically be in a general election. The Jackson County and Kansas City Election Boards mailed cards to registered voters earlier this month with a reminder of their polling places, but residents can also check their precinct on either election board’s website.
What’s on the ballot
Tuesday’s election is a special election focused around a single issue. This means that unlike many elections, voters will only be answering one yes-or-no question: whether or not to recall White.
According to a sample ballot previously released by the Kansas City Election Board, the ballot question reads, “Shall Frank White, Jr. be recalled from the office of County Executive in Jackson County, Missouri?”
Ballot language was finalized for the recall election on June 8, weeks before a Jackson County judge set a date for the special election.
Preparing for the election
Despite initial concerns, both the Jackson County and Kansas City election boards were able to fully staff the election by reaching out to former and returning volunteer poll workers.
The Kansas City Election Board will receive about $900,000 from the Jackson County general fund to cover the costs of election administration. The Jackson County Election Board will receive about $1.2 million from the general fund to do the same.
White, for his part, has signaled that he will fight for his seat until the minute polls close.
The embattled county executive filed a writ with the Missouri Court of Appeals, Western District late Friday afternoon to try to stall the vote — challenging the early August decision setting the recall election for September 30. The emergency petition asked a state appeals judge to shut down the Sept. 30 election, questioning the state’s authority to have set its own date for the special recall election.
White maintains that the Sept. 30 election date is not authorized by Missouri law. He has referred repeatedly to a clause in the Jackson County charter that he interprets as requiring recall elections to be held on the next scheduled public election date.
A state judge denied White’s petition early Monday afternoon, determining the election will go on Tuesday as scheduled, according to court documents.
After the election
Once polls close and every vote has been submitted to the Jackson County and Kansas City election boards, the results of Tuesday’s election will go into effect as soon as its results are certified by the two election boards.
If a majority of voters vote “no” on the recall question, White will stay in office as county executive until January 1, 2027. If a majority of voters vote “yes,” the seat of county executive would be immediately vacant.
Legislature Chair DaRon McGee would first appoint a temporary replacement to run the county until the county legislature either approved that appointee within 30 days or appointed someone else.
If legislators failed to pick a temporary replacement, the judge of the county’s 16th Judicial Circuit, currently Judge Jessica Agnelly, would appoint a temporary county executive for the same time frame.
McGee has not publicly shared who he intends to nominate, though speculation has intensified inside and outside of White’s office in recent weeks. In response to claims from both White and members of the media, legislator Manuel Abarca IV has said that he is not seeking an internal appointment as temporary county executive, while former Jackson County Democratic Party chair Phil LeVota has said he “may consider” seeking the seat after being “approached by many people” about a potential nomination.
Regardless of the results of Tuesday’s election, a new county executive will be elected in November 2026 for a full four-year term. Primary elections will take place in August 2026.
The Jackson County charter does not limit the number of years a county executive can stay in office, so White would be eligible to run again, as would an interim county executive if one is named.
However, White has said that he does not plan to run again in 2026, citing ongoing recovery after a kidney cancer diagnosis.
This story was originally published September 30, 2025 at 5:46 AM.
