Johnson County fights election office proposal to close 8 early voting locations

In a few months, Johnson County residents will be able to cast their votes for local, state and federal representatives. But some may have to travel further if they want to drop off their ballots before election day.

In May, Interim Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt notified the Johnson County Board of Commissioners that the Election Office plans to close eight early voting locations throughout the county, but will add two new locations in Spring Hill and De Soto.

The proposed closures:

• Central Resource Library: 9875 W. 87th St. in Overland Park
• Oak Park Library: 9500 Bluejacket St. in Overland Park
• Leawood City Hall: 4800 Town Center Dr.
• Tomahawk Ridge Community Center: 11902 Lowell Ave. in Overland Park
• Johnson County Community College Midwest Trust Center: 12345 College Blvd. in Overland Park
• Westwood City Hall: 4700 Rainbow Blvd.
• Olathe Downtown Library: 260 E. Santa Fe St.
• Johnson County Sunset Offices: 11811 S Sunset Dr. in Olathe

The new early voting locations would be at the Spring Hill Civic Center, 401 N. Madison St., and the De Soto Community Center, 32905 W. 84th St.

The closures would shrink the countywide dropbox network from 18 to 12 voting sites — a change that could impact nearly 460,000 registered voters — despite the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners allocating enough funding to support the previously established sites and more than 60% of Johnson County voters used the early voting locations during the 2024 elections, Chair Mike Kelly said in a letter to Schmidt.

“I appreciate our shared commitment to fiscally responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars. However, such prudence needs to be balanced against the potentially negative impacts to Johnson County residents,” Kelly wrote in the letter. “Scaling back early voting locations potentially disenfranchises those who rely on the accessibility and convenience of our budgeted early voting sites.”

‘I want her to reconsider’

In her notice to the county, Schmidt did not explain why she opted to shutter certain locations.

Schmidt — who was appointed to the position by Kansas Secretary of State last December after former Commissioner Fred Sherman resigned — was not available for comment on Monday.

Despite the commissioners approving a budget and fully funding the Election Office, the decision to close early voting locations ultimately falls to the Election Office, not the Johnson County Commissioners. Kelly and his colleagues on the dais can request Schmidt to reconsider, but they can’t mandate any changes.

While concerned with the closures, Kelly told The Star that he was pleased to see new sites in Spring Hill and De Soto — “especially given that the state of Kansas has removed a three-day grace period for mail ballots.”

“I want her to reconsider this. I think we have trust in the Johnson County Election Office and we should. We have safe, secure, accurate elections and I want to make sure we maintain that trust and frankly, enfranchise as many people as possible,” Kelly said. “I firmly believe that when more people vote, better decisions get made. So I want as many people as possible to vote.”

Limiting access to voting

Of the eight early voting locations that are closing, four are in Overland Park: the Central Resource Library, Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, Johnson County Community College’s Midwest Trust Center and the Oak Park Library.

Drew Mitrisin — an Overland Park City Council member who represents some of the areas in northern Overland Park that are set to lose early voting locations — said he’s concerned about the changes because it limits access for some of the city’s lower income communities that may have transportation disadvantages or can’t get time off work to go to other voting locations.

“These are some of our risk-watch neighborhoods — especially near Central Resource Library and Oak Park Library,” Mitrisin said. “So limiting access in a community that already has challenges getting around, maybe working hourly schedules, is really concerning, because it seems like a real strong attack on making people’s voices heard.”

Under Schmidt’s new proposal, the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center would be the only voting location that would serve Johnson County’s largest city, he said.

While people could go to other cities to vote, Mitrisin said these changes could add thousands of more voters to the Arts and Heritage Center — meaning it could take longer to vote and “put a lot of pressure on that location.”

“We have a lot of density in north Overland Park and I think when you’re talking about accessibility and equity, you should be focused on where the most people live, not necessarily trying to strike some sort of geographic balance,” Mitrisin said.

With high demand for early voting, these changes “deserve a real serious look” at whether they are appropriate, he said.

“Especially how these changes can impact communities, neighborhoods that are (in) some ways disadvantaged … I think it definitely deserves a closer look,” he said.