Missouri, unlike Kansas, bans advance voting. How are so many in KC casting ballots?
Officially, Missouri does not allow advance voting — unlike Kansas, which starts the process Wednesday.
But official or not, since Sept. 22, when “in-person absentee” voting began across Missouri, some 12,000 Kansas Citians — close to 1,000 per day and 10 times more than in a typical election year — have so far cast ballots at Union Station for the November election.
“’Early’ is a dirty word, so we call it ‘absentee.’ That’s what we call it,” said Shawn Kieffer, one of two directors of the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. “People do get confused, because in Kansas they do vote early. Around that state line there is a lot of confusion.”
Hardly any confusion was evident among the upwards of 50 people who throughout the morning Tuesday lined up on the basement level of Union Station, 30 W. Pershing Road. One day alone last week, some 1,200 voters cast ballots.
On Tuesday, three additional “satellite” polling places opened around Kansas City, with a fourth set to open Wednesday to accommodate what Kieffer anticipates will be a record 50,000 ballots cast early by in-person absentee or by mail.
The 50,000 figure would nearly double the highest previous record of approximately 26,000 absentee votes cast in 2008, when Democrat Barack Obama, with running mate Joe Biden, defeated the Republican ticket of John McCain and Sarah Palin.
Kieffer said that by the close of polls on Election Day, Nov. 3, some 150,000 of Kansas City’s 230,000 registered voters will likely cast votes, for a turnout of about 65%. That would vie with the 153,000 voters in 2008, a 66% turnout.
In Johnson County, Election Commission Connie Schmidt is expecting record voter turnout — upwards of 90%.
“We are definitely going to exceed our record that we set (for advance voting) in August of 2020,” Schmidt told the Johnson County Board of Commissioners at a recent meeting.
Kansas has allowed voters to cast advance ballots for any reason since 1996. And during the COVID-19 pandemic, Schmidt estimates that more than 60% of voters will do so by mail or at advance voting locations, which open in Johnson County on Saturday and in Wyandotte County on Oct. 20.
“People are nervous. People are nervous because of the candidates that are running,” Keiffer said of Donald Trump and Biden. “They are also nervous because of COVID.”
Lines for early voting
On the downtown square in Independence on Tuesday, a line nearly a block long formed outside the storefront location set up by the Jackson County Election Board.
“The line has been like this since we opened at 8:30 a.m.,” said Cheri Geib, absentee coordinator for the election board. “It has been steady every day.”
Geib said that when absentee voting began Sept. 22, voters waited an hour before the polling station opened.
“They came with their chairs and they waited like they were lining up to buy concert tickets or something,” said Geib, who has worked elections in the county for 22 years. “I have never seen anything like this before. I’m sure that as we get closer and closer to the election the lines will get longer and longer.”
Voters can walk in to vote, or drive up to another site a block away and curbside vote without leaving their vehicles. They can also drop off a ballot that has already been filled out and sealed. Once the polls open for the day, voting has only taken about 15 minutes.
In-person, absentee voting is available in every election district across Missouri. If you live outside of Kansas City, check with your county election office to find an open polling place. The office of the Missouri Secretary of State provides a list.
Technically, a registered Missouri voter needs to have one of seven excuses to vote absentee, either in person or by mail. The seven reasons are:
▪ Being absent from one’s voting jurisdiction on Election Day.
▪ Physical incapacitation due to illness or disability or caring for an incapacitated person.
▪ Restricted because of religious beliefs.
▪ Employed by an election authority.
▪ Incarcerated but retaining voting rights.
▪ Certified participation in the address confidentiality (SAFE at Home) program for victims who fear for their safety or because of sexual assault, domestic violence, sex trafficking, stalking or alike.
▪ Having contracted or being in an at-risk category for COVID-19. Such categories include being age 65 or older, being immunocompromised, having chronic lung disease, living in a long-term care facility and others.
Rose Mitchel, 58, of Kansas City was 18th in line on Tuesday morning. She wanted to vote early for medical reasons. “I can pull up my medical records if I need it,” she said.
But she didn’t. Poll workers only ask for identification and for a verbal reason to vote in-person absentee. No notary is needed in person; that’s only for mail-in ballots. No doctor’s notes are necessary; no proof that one is going to be out of the voting jurisdiction.
“We don’t investigate,” Kieffer said. “I hate to even say this. I wish people would sort of think that we do investigate, but to be truthful, we don’t. We don’t have time.”
Johnson County voting sites
In Johnson County, election officials have added new advance polling places, ballot drop-off boxes and an extra Saturday for voters to cast ballots ahead of Nov. 3. This Saturday, 10 advance voting locations will open, including at the former American Girl Store in Oak Park Mall and at the Overland Park Convention Center.
Nathan Carter, election office spokesman, said on Tuesday that more than 150,000 voters had requested mail-in ballots, setting another record.
Also starting on Saturday, voters may submit their ballots at drop-off boxes at libraries throughout the county, as well as at the election office. (Wyandotte County has far fewer sites for voting in person in advance or dropping off ballots.)
Even with the majority of voters expected to cast ballots in advance, Schmidt is anticipating long lines on Election Day. She said last month that her office has hired 1,700 additional people to work at polling sites, where voting machines will be spread out to allow for social distancing.
“If you choose to wait to vote on Election Day, because voters in line will be socially distanced, be prepared for there to be a line,” Schmidt said.
A record number of Johnson County residents — more than 430,000 — registered to vote ahead of the August primary. And that number grew leading up to Tuesday’s registration deadline. As of late last month, nearly 450,000 residents had registered to vote.
The Union Station scene
Voters at Union Station each had their reasons for showing up early. Bob Coates of Kansas City is 71. He voted with his wife, Farilen.
“As long as you have your ID, it’s very easy. It’s fast. I think it’s probably faster now than it will be on Election Day,” Coates said.
Brian Gilbreath, 55, works for a hearing aid manufacturer. “I travel for work. I’ve always voted absentee in Missouri,” he said. He typically budgets about an hour to do so, although often it is quicker.
Aiken Conrad, 45, stood in line with her mother, Grace Brockway, 71, who now lives with her. Conrad lived in Johnson County until recently. State law in Kansas allows advance voting to begin up to 20 days before Election Day at county election offices or satellite locations. Every Kansas county must offer advance voting no later than one week before Election Day.
But Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and other leaders in Jefferson City have declined to expand voting options, even during the pandemic. “Our system is fine,” Parson said this spring.
Conrad said she thinks it is “asinine” that Missouri does not offer advance voting without reasons. She said she decided to vote in advance with her mother to protect her health and that of her family.
“I didn’t want to do the mail-in,” she said. She did not want the validity of her mail-in ballot questioned, given the heightened rhetoric by the president and others in the Trump administration that has cast doubt on the the proven legitimacy of mail-in voting.
“Get it done, Get it processed,” Conrad said of her vote.
Kieffer said that votes cast early are recorded on “military-grade” USB memory drives that are only put into the commission’s tabulation computer after 7 p.m., when polls close, on election night.
Besides Union Station, Kansas City now has satellite polling stations for in-person, absentee voting at the Gregory Hills Church of God, 7020 James A. Reed Road, United Believers Community Church, 5600 E. 112th Terrace., The Whole Person, 3710 Main St., and Bruce Watkins Cultural Center, 3700 Blue Parkway, which opens Wednesday.
Union Station voting is open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Satellite locations open at 10 a.m. All Kansas City locations are open on Saturdays until 2 p.m.
Includes reporting by The Star’s Sarah Ritter and Mará Rose Williams.
This story was originally published October 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
