7 Platte County candidates could be pulled off ballot due to ‘misleading’ error
Several candidates vying for seats representing Platte County this fall could be disqualified from the election after a “misleading,” county-issued slip of paper led them to incorrectly file financial statements.
The Platte County Commission is considering taking steps to remove seven candidates from the August ballot after they did not file their personal financial disclosure statements with both the state and the county before the April 21 deadline — a mistake some say was largely caused by inaccurate information provided by local election officials.
In Platte County, countywide candidates must file financial statements with both the Missouri Ethics Commission and the county clerk in compliance with a county ordinance first passed nearly 30 years ago mandating the dual filing. In many other Missouri counties, candidates only need to file with the state.
According to the ordinance, if candidates do not file to both entities by the deadline, the county commission should inform the Platte County Board of Elections to disqualify the candidate and remove their name from the ballot.
But candidates say a yellow slip of paper attached to the printed packet of financial disclosure information provided to them by the Platte County Board of Elections had “misleading” and “confusing” information.
The sheet of paper, according to Platte County Commissioner Joe Vanover, told candidates they only needed to file personal financial disclosure statements online with the MEC, and not to any other office, which does not align with county election law.
Candidates are also given a copy of the full ordinance, which outlines the requirement and deadlines, Vanover said.
“So that little half sheet that was attached to the candidate filing packet was erroneous. It was wrong. It shouldn’t have been given,” Vanover said during a Thursday morning commission work session.
In the past, a similar yellow half-sheet attached to candidate filing documents clearly informed candidates of the dual filing requirement, according to notices from elections in 2020 and 2024 provided by Vanover.
It’s unclear why this year’s notice was different from past elections or why the information was incorrect. The election board did not immediately respond to requests for comment on how the mistake was made.
Regardless, Mary McKenna, the lone Democratic candidate for presiding commissioner, said the little slip of paper was the primary source of confusion for candidates, and could be the reason August’s ballot might end up much lighter than before.
“It was misleading, extremely misleading, and sent people, depending on who you were, in various directions,” she told The Star.
In addition to McKenna, Chris Kendall, a Republican running for county treasurer; Gena Ross, a Republican running for presiding commissioner; Russ Wojtkiewicz, a Republican vying for county clerk; Kevin Robinson, a Republican running for county auditor; and Holly Cayer, a Republican running for county collector, were among those who could be deemed ineligible for this year’s election.
Six of the seven candidates submitted their personal financial disclosure statements to the state, but not the county, while Robinson did not file to either due to confusion on the filing deadline, which he believed to be May 1 instead of April 21.
The three-member county commission decided Thursday to place an order for each of the seven candidates on the agenda for Monday’s regular meeting, directing the board of elections to disqualify the candidates. The commission could still vote against the measures, but Presiding Commissioner Scott Fricker said it is “a rule of law” and should be addressed.
If the seven candidates are removed from the ballot, Fricker said he “fully anticipates” lawsuits to follow the decision. Both Wojtkiewicz and McKenna said they would consider pursuing legal action if disqualified.
The county commission first passed the dual filing ordinance in 1997, which is renewed every few years. Since then, it’s been fairly rare for a candidate to be removed from the ballot due to a financial filing mistake, according to Chris Hershey, director of elections for the county election board.
A candidate hasn’t been disqualified from an election for failing to file financial statements to both the state and county since 2016.
“It’s not a common occurrence,” Hershey said.
If the candidates are removed, the countywide ballot would drop from 17 total candidates — 15 on the Republican ticket and two on the Democratic ticket — down to 10, including nine Republicans and one Democrat.
Several people who spoke during the meeting Thursday said it was unfair to remove the candidates from the election when they did not receive notice prior to the financial statement filing deadline that they had done so incorrectly.
“It’s not very fair,” said Lynn Roberts, a longtime Platte County citizen. “It is so hard to recruit candidates to do the job you’re doing, and I appreciate that it’s a volunteer effort that you put forth for the rest of us, but don’t punish them for wanting to do it.”
Another Platte County resident said she does not want to see the ballot shrink by seven candidates because of a “mix-up” that was “very misleading and very confusing” for candidates.
“I will be very disappointed if you remove (seven) candidates from my choices,” she said.
“I don’t care if these candidates are Democrat or Republican,” added Tim Griffith, a resident of Platte County, “all seven should be on the ballot.”
