The election isn’t over in Johnson County. Here is what’s left to be decided and why
Worried about voting in person during the COVID-19 pandemic, Olathe resident Maggie Chiu requested a mail-in ballot for the November election. But then her concerns shifted.
“There started to be a lot of paranoia, among myself and also with my peers, about mail-in voting. We had heard a lot about mail-in ballots going missing or votes disappearing,” said Chiu, a Democrat. “So I wanted to place my vote in-person to know I had pushed the button and submitted it myself.”
Many Johnson County residents like her requested mail-in ballots, then opted to vote in person. They wanted to get their vote out of the way or remove uncertainty by casting it at a polling place. But that meant they were required to fill out a provisional ballot to ensure their vote wouldn’t be counted twice.
As a result, Johnson County is counting more than 11,000 provisional ballots, an unusually high number, officials say.
Those ballots were not included in the results on election night. Instead, they were counted Wednesday during the county’s official canvass, to be finalized on Thursday. And the additional votes could determine some tight races in Johnson County — including a Kansas House race where candidates are currently separated by one vote.
Election officials, including Commissioner Connie Schmidt in Johnson County, fought back against distrust in the mail-in voting process — which nationwide was fueled by President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims about mail ballots leading to widespread fraud. Both Schmidt and Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a Johnson County Republican, emphasized that the process was secure.
Still, thousands more voters submitted provisional ballots this year, 13,000 in total. On Wednesday, the Board of County Canvassers voted to count the majority of those ballots. But 2,000 will not be included because election officials determined the voters were not registered or there were other errors.
In 2016, around 10,000 provisional ballots were cast, said election office spokesman Nathan Carter.
“The increase is likely due to the number of voters who chose to vote in person after requesting a mail ballot,” he said. Johnson County had a record number of people request mail-in ballots this fall.
Counting provisional ballots is usually a sleepy affair. Voters often cast these ballots because of mismatched signatures, discrepancies in registration records or other identification issues. Once the provisional ballots are counted and the rest of the election results are confirmed, the Board of County Canvassers will certify the results at 4 p.m. Thursday.
But with some races too close to call, provisional ballots could determine the outcomes of a few elections.
In the race for Kansas House District 16 in northern Johnson County, Democrat Linda Featherston is leading Republican Rashard Young by only one vote. As of Friday, Featherston had 6,906 votes to Young’s 6,905.
Both first-time candidates, Featherston and Young are waiting to learn who will win the seat currently held by Democratic state Rep. Cindy Holscher, who handily won her bid for state Senate on Election Day.
“This seat hasn’t been held by a Republican for some time now, so we are really impressed with what we did as a campaign,” Young said in an interview. “I’m in a good place in my mind. I think our campaign feels strong. We know those provisional ballots could go either way. But we’re just going to trust the Lord that his hands are in control of all of it.”
Featherston did not respond to a request for comment.
In southern Overland Park, only nine votes separate the candidates vying for the seat in Kansas’ District 48. As of Friday, Democratic incumbent Jennifer Day trailed behind Republican challenger Terry Frederick.
And residents also are watching one county race closely. Johnson County Commissioner Mike Brown appeared to lose his seat on election night to newcomer Shirley Allenbrand. But the candidates are only separated by about 2,000 votes.
As of Friday, Allenbrand had won 48.3% of the votes, to Brown’s 44% in the 6th District, which covers western Johnson County. Allenbrand, a member of the Olathe Planning Commission, considered it a win on Nov. 3 and delivered a victory speech. But Brown — who has frequently caused controversy on the board, including recently telling constituents to buy firearms and prepare for a coming war — is waiting for the final results.
Last week, Brown posted on Facebook that he believes his future includes serving as chairman of the Johnson County Board of Commissioners in 2022.
With Brown losing his seat, the board would gain three new members. The other two races were not as close. In the 3rd District, which covers southeastern Johnson County, Charlotte O’Hara, a self-described conservative and former state representative, won 50.8% of the vote, defeating challenger Stacy Obringer-Varhall, with 36.4%, as of Friday.
In the 2nd District in northern Johnson County, former Shawnee mayor Jeff Meyers received 51.2% of votes, beating opponent Rob Patterson, who had 35.4%.
This story was originally published November 11, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect accurate vote totals for the Kansas House District 16 race.
