Johnson County to recount votes on Prairie Village form of government question
The Johnson County Board of Canvassers voted Saturday to complete a hand recount of votes received on a ballot question about Prairie Village’s form of government.
The county announced in a statement that the board met at 8:30 a.m. Saturday after receiving a “timely” bond payment in accordance with Kansas law to cover the costs of the recount.
Voters were asked in the general election “Shall the City of Prairie Village, Kansas, abandon the mayor-council form of government?” Voters could have either selected “yes,” they’d like to abandon the current form of government, or “no,” they’d like to keep it as is.
According to the Johnson County Election Office, original election results included 9,010 votes cast, with “No” receiving 5,842 votes and “Yes” receiving 3,168 votes.
The question was posed to voters after debates and disapproval of government operations in 2023 led to the formation of a group known as PV United.
The group circulated petitions to bring three questions to the local ballot. After a battle in the legal system and the measures appearing before the Kansas Supreme Court, courts ruled only one of their questions — the one about the city’s form of government — could be included on the ballot.
According to a statement from the Johnson County Election Office on Saturday, a team of bipartisan election workers will recount the ballots by hand.
If the election result for the race is overturned after the recount, the bond payment would be returned to the requestor, the statement says.
Results from the recount will be heard and certified Nov. 19, at the Johnson County Election Office, 2101 E. Kansas City Road in Olathe.
