Where are all the ballot drop boxes? Wyandotte County botches advance voting plans
What were election officials in the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas thinking?
To order ballot drop boxes so close the Nov. 3 general election was an abject failure of leadership.
After weeks of indecisiveness, Wyandotte Election Commissioner Bruce Newby finally asked the Unified Government’s Board of Commissioners to use federal coronavirus relief funds for the purchase of four drop boxes for advance ballots.
But did the request come too late? Wyandotte County was in good shape, Newby told commissioners as late as last month, according to documents provided to The Star.
Drop boxes, which allow voters to cast their advance ballots without mailing them, must be placed in secure locations with surveillance capabilities. The process takes three to four weeks, Newby said. Two drop boxes provided by the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office were installed this week.
The situation should be monitored, voting rights advocates say.
“We’re running out of time,” Newby acknowledges.
Each county election office is responsible for securing its own equipment. And Kansas Democrats have accused Newby of trying to suppress voting in the county through inaction.
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Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly’s administration urged local officials to use federal CARES Act dollars to increase the number of drop boxes in their communities. Wyandotte County was late to the party.
The delay amounts to voter suppression, making it more difficult for low-income voters and people of color in Wyandotte County to safely cast their ballots, said Ben Meers, executive director of the Kansas Demcoractic Party.
Budget constraints and bureaucratic hurdles were at play, not partisan politics, Newby told The Star Editorial Board. Wyandotte County is a reliably Democratic area. Government officials denied Newby’s claim.
“We have to have the cooperation of the Unified Government,” he said. “I can’t buy something that I don’t have the money for.”
Other counties prepared for advance voting
Kansas allows any eligible voter to request an advance ballot by mail. Early in-person voting is an option as well. A record number of Kansans plan to vote before Election Day this year.
In four of the state’s most populous counties, officials took steps to prepare for the expected increase in advance voting due to the inherent risk of going to the polls during the coronavirus pandemic.
Johnson County will use eight drop box locations for voters, who can choose their preferred candidates by mail beginning Wednesday.
Sedgwick County will utilize 14 ballot drop boxes. Nearby Douglas County has 10 in place and two more in reserve.
In Johnson County, 10 sites were designated for early in-person voting; Sedgwick County has 18; and Douglas County has seven. Wyandotte has just three.
“People want options,” Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said.
Of course, Kansas voters can still go to the polls. Those leery of the United States Postal Service have the option of turning in their completed advance ballots to the county election office before Nov. 3, or to their polling location on Election Day.
But election officials have a duty to eliminate barriers that could become a deterrent to voting.
In Johnson County, the number of mail-in ballot applications has surpassed 100,000. Officials plan to use drive-thru ballot boxes outside the election office in Olathe that were installed in 2018.
Seven new boxes located in public libraries throughout the county also will be put to use. Each was provided by the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office.
Why?
Johnson County election officials simply asked for and received more than their allotment, which does not reflect well on the Wyandotte Election Office, University of Kansas political science professor Patrick Miller said.
“If Wyandotte County (officials) really wanted the boxes, couldn’t they get them?” Miller said.
Wyandotte County could have just one drop box for approximately every 45,000 registered voters in an area heavily populated with low-income, Hispanic and Black residents — a ratio that is simply insufficient and indefensible.
Wyandotte County should have a minimum of five drop boxes for advance ballots, some lawmakers said. Others have argued for six to eight boxes.
In any case, the county has fallen woefully short, making it more difficult to vote in Wyandotte County.
Most county election officials in Kansas have worked to allow voters to cast advance ballots safely and with minimal hassle.
The same can’t be said in Wyandotte County.
This story was originally published October 13, 2020 at 9:41 AM.