What you need to know and bring to vote Tuesday in Kansas’ primary election
Between heated primaries for governor on the Democratic and Republican sides and crowded fields in congressional districts, Kansas voters have an array of choices on their ballots Tuesday.
Here’s what you need to know to vote Tuesday, from where to find your polling place to what to bring and some key races.
If you encounter any problems at the polls, please contact the Star’s Hunter Woodall at (816) 234-4134 or hwoodall@kcstar.com. You can also file complaints with the U.S. Department of Justice.
Find your polling place
To find your polling place in Kansas, go to https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/Home.do
Click on the polling place tab and then enter your county, address and ZIP code to find out where to vote.
Poll hours
Polls in Kansas are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m, according to each county’s election office. If you’re in line by at least 7 p.m., you’ll be allowed to vote.
Take ID
Make sure to take a government-issued photo ID to the polls. That can include a valid passport, driver’s license or similar form of ID, such as a concealed carry license issued through Kansas, according to the Kansas secretary of state’s office. The full list of identification documents can be found here.
Voters 65 and older are allowed by law to use an expired photo ID to vote, such as an expired driver’s license.
Primary rules
To vote in either the Democratic or Republican primaries, voters must be affiliated with the party whose primary they wish to vote in. The deadline to switch between parties has already passed, but unaffiliated voters can choose to pick a party and affiliate at the polls on election day and then vote in that party’s primary.
Voters are able to cast a provisional ballot.
Voters can also return their advance ballot to either the election office by 7 p.m. or any polling place during voting hours on Election Day, according to the Johnson County election office.
Others voting by mail with an advance ballot, according to the Johnson County election office, have to make sure they have their mail-in ballot postmarked by 7 p.m. on Election Day and received by the election office by Friday for their vote to count.
Candidate names
Voters in Johnson County will have to go to another page on their voting machine ballot if they wish to see all of the candidates in the race for governor on the Republican side. That’s because the office’s software allows only six candidates on a page, Johnson County Election Office Administrator Nathan Carter said.
“When you bring up the first page of candidates, there’s actually a flashing button on the screen that flashes blue and yellow. It says ‘more,’ indicates that there are more candidates,” Carter said. “And if you make a selection on the first page without seeing the second page, the equipment will not let you proceed until you see a warning screen that says, ‘You haven’t seen all of the candidates.’ ”
Carter said because of ballot rotation throughout the county, every candidate in the GOP governor race will appear in each position on the ballot an equal number of times.
What’s on the ballot
Here are some of the key races:
Governor: Kansas’ GOP primary pits Gov. Jeff Colyer, who took over when Sam Brownback left to join the Trump administration, against Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who on Monday received the president’s endorsement. The other major candidates are 2006 nominee Jim Barnett and Insurance Commissioner Ken Selzer.
On the Democratic side, the major candidates are Carl Brewer, Laura Kelly and Josh Svaty. Svaty is a former Kansas lawmaker and secretary of agriculture, Kelly is a state senator and Brewer is a former mayor of Wichita.
U.S. House: In the 3rd District, six Democrats vie to face U.S. Rep. Kevin Yoder, a Republican, in what could be a vulnerable House seat for the GOP. The six: Sharice Davids, backed by the pro-choice Emily’s List PAC, Bernie-Sanders-backed Brent Welder; history teacher Tom Niermann; businessman Mike McCamon; businesswoman Sylvia Williams; and 2016 candidate Jay Sidie.
In the 2nd District, seven candidates seek the GOP nomination: state Sens. Steve Fitzgerald, Caryn Tyson and Dennis Pyle; state Rep. Kevin Jones; political outsider Steve Watkins; Basehor City Councilman Vernon Fields; and Doug Mays, a former House speaker. The winner gets Paul Davis, an unopposed Democrat, in November.
Also: Voters will narrow fields for Kansas secretary of state and insurance commissioner, as well as many Kansas House seats.
This story was originally published August 6, 2018 at 1:56 PM.