Kelly and Kobach won close races. Here’s why Kansas vote totals continue to change
Roughly 29,000 mail ballots could still be returned in the Kansas election, according to Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office.
These ballots could alter the margins in tightly contested statewide races, but they’re unlikely to change the outcomes.
The Associated Press declared Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly the winner in her reelection contest with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee, Wednesday afternoon after the race had been called by other outlets hours earlier.
Earlier Wednesday, the AP also called Republican Kris Kobach as the winner in the race to succeed Schmidt as attorney general over Democrat Chris Mann.
Schmidt offered a qualified concession Wednesday afternoon, congratulating Kelly on her “apparent reelection,” a phrasing that could leave the door open to retracting the sentiment if the race tightens.
In a statement, Mann’s spokesperson emphasized the importance to count every ballot. He has not conceded. The number of outstanding mail ballots exceeds the vote margins in each race, but it’s unlikely the remaining ballots will significantly change the results.
An estimated 1,600 of the outstanding mail ballots are from Wyandotte County, a Democratic stronghold.
Nearly 14,000 of the outstanding mail ballots statewide were sent to registered Democrats. Just over 8,600 went to registered Republicans.
Voters who requested a mail ballot were required to have their ballot in the mail by 7 p.m. Tuesday. Kansas law gives them until the close of business Monday for the ballots to physically arrive at election offices.
In addition to the mail ballots, an unknown number of provisional ballots could also alter statewide totals. Technical issues in four small Kansas counties — Dickinson, Ford, Saline and Montgomery — mean that some ballots will require hand counts before they’re added to those counties’ final totals.
This story was originally published November 9, 2022 at 12:34 PM.
