‘That’s pretty phenomenal’: In Johnson County, more than 50,000 have already voted
Nearly 22,000 Johnson County residents have turned out to cast their ballots in person since early voting sites opened on Saturday, said Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt.
Her office continues to see thousands of voters in long lines outside of polling places. In addition, more than 32,000 mail-in ballots have been placed in drop-off boxes throughout the county, bringing the total of votes cast so far to more than 50,000.
“Our projection for 2020 in-person advance voting was around 65,000 ballots. And we’ve still got 10 days left to be open. So we’re probably going to go over our projected number for in-person voting,” Schmidt said Tuesday, adding that she was impressed by the turnout on a weekday. “That’s pretty phenomenal to me.”
Schmidt has been expecting record turnout this election — upwards of 80% — as voters elect the president and a new U.S. senator. She believes the turnout will largely be driven by early voting, as her office already sent out 156,000 mail-in ballots — more than any other year.
For comparison, in the 2016 presidential election, the office sent out roughly 53,000 mail-in ballots, said Nathan Carter, a spokesman with the election office.
Across the country, election officials expect a surge in early and mail-in voting as concerns mount over long lines and wait times during the pandemic. At early voting sites, machines are spread apart to allow for social distancing, and voters are instructed to stand feet apart while waiting in line.
Johnson County has added new advance polling places, ballot drop-off boxes and an extra Saturday for voters to cast ballots to meet the demand. On Saturday, 10 advance voting locations opened, including the former American Girl Store in Oak Park Mall, the Hilltop Conference Center and the Overland Park Convention Center.
On that first day of early voting, the election office reported that 7,860 people cast ballots in person. On Monday, that grew to 10,299, for a total of 18,159.
So far, in-person early voting numbers are close but trailing slightly behind those reported in 2016 at this time, Schmidt said. At the end of the second day of early voting in 2016, nearly 22,000 ballots were cast in person. This year, the election office reached that number midway through the third day, Tuesday.
“It’s difficult to compare the in-person advance voting numbers from 2020 to 2016 because of the significant increase in voting by mail and the earlier opening on a Saturday instead of a Monday,” Carter said. “The numbers are close, even with so many voters choosing to vote by mail.”
Johnson County makes up the majority of the advance ballots cast in Kansas so far, as many counties around the state did not open their polling sites until Monday. Statewide, 20,651 voters had cast ballots in person as of Monday afternoon. That’s compared to 8,005 in the 2016 election, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.
Also on Saturday, voters could begin submitting their completed mail-in ballots at eight drop-off boxes at libraries throughout the county, as well as at the 10 advance polling sites. By the end of Monday, 32,348 ballots had been dropped off.
Johnson County also has reported a record number of registered voters this election, nearly 440,000 as of last month.
Election officials urged voters who had already requested to vote by mail to continue with that plan and bring their ballots to a drop-off location. If those residents change their minds and want to vote in person, they’ll have to use a provisional ballot, which won’t be counted until Nov. 11.
“Mail ballots, on the other hand, are collected and counted as soon as they’re returned and will be among the first results released on Election Night,” Carter said. “The best way to make sure your vote is counted by Election Day is to vote your mail 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. After that, to vote in person, residents will need to go to the polls Nov. 3.
Advance voting in Wyandotte County opened at three locations at 8 a.m Monday.
Advance voting sites
▪ Arts and Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park
▪ Hilltop Conference Center, 7700 W. 143rd St., Overland Park
▪ Johnson County Election Office, 2101 E. 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
▪ Wyandotte County Election Office, 850 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas
▪ Joe Amayo/Argentine Community Center, 2810 Metropolitan Ave., Kansas City, Kansas
▪ Eisenhower Rec Center, 2901 N 72nd St., Kansas City, Kansas
This story was originally published October 20, 2020 at 2:26 PM.
