Already requested your mail-in ballot in Johnson County? Wait for it, officials say
If you’re voting by mail in Johnson County this fall, election officials have a message: Your vote will count.
Voters outside Oak Park Mall on Saturday — the first day of in-person voting in the county — said they wanted to get their vote out of the way and remove any uncertainty from the process by casting it in person.
Despite mistrust in mail-in voting,Johnson County Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt urged voters who had already requested to vote by mail to continue with that plan and bring their ballots to a drop off location.
“Their vote will be counted,” she said. “If they fill out a mail ballot and put it in a drop box it’ll come straight to us.”
These are the ballot drop box locations:
Blue Valley Library, 9000 W 151st St., Overland Park
Central Resource Library, 9875 W 87th St., Overland Park
De Soto Library, 33145 W 83rd St., De Soto
Gardner Library, 137 E Shawnee St., Gardner
Shawnee Library, 13811 Johnson Dr., Shawnee
Spring Hill Library, 109 S Webster St., Spring Hill
Northeast Offices, 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission
Schmidt said early and mail-in voting is occurring this year at unprecedented rates. Her office has already sent out 156,000 mail-in ballots, more than ever before.
Before noon on Saturday, Schmidt said, more than 3,500 votes had been cast.
“We know our voters are energized, and they proved it to us before we opened this morning,” she said. Lines had formed at all 10 locations before the 9 a.m. opening.
If voters arrive to vote in person despite requesting a ballot by mail, Schmidt said, they will need to fill out a provisional ballot which won’t be counted until the canvas board meets after election night.
That impacts the efficiency of the in-person polling places too, Schmidt said.
“That’s kind of bogging us down just a bit because those voters are all provisional voters, and that takes a little longer,” Schmidt said.
Voters whose ballot doesn’t show up can call the election office for a replacement, provisional ballot.
In-person advance voting in Johnson County will be open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturdays, and 10 a.m to 7 p.m. on weekdays, until Oct. 31.
- Arts and Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park
- Hilltop Conference Center, 7700 West 143rd St., Overland Park
- Johnson County Election Office, 2101 East Kansas City Road, Olathe
- Johnson County Northeast Offices, 6000 Lamar Ave., Mission
- Johnson County Sunset Office Building, 11811 South Sunset Drive, Olathe
- New Century Fieldhouse, 551 New Century Parkway, Gardner
- Oak Park Mall, 11327 W. 95th St., Overland Park
- Okun Fieldhouse, 20200 Johnson Drive, Shawnee
- Olathe Indian Creek Library, 16100 W. 135th St., Olathe
- Overland Park Convention Center, 6000 College Blvd., Overland Park
