Kansas voting update: More than a half-million ballots cast, election chief predicts record turnout

by Anna Kaminski, Kansas Reflector
November 4, 2024

TOPEKA — Before early voting poll locations closed at noon Monday in Kansas, the state’s top election official already predicted record-breaking voter turnout.

The Kansas Secretary of State’s office reported Saturday that more than 453,000 early ballots had been cast in person and nearly 123,000 of the 165,700 ballots mailed to voters had been returned. Secretary of State Scott Schwab predicted that Kansas’ total voter turnout will exceed the totals from 2016 and 2020.

Presidential election years typically see higher voter turnout. The office said Kansas saw 71% turnout in 2020 and 67% in 2016. The office reported more than 2 million Kansans are registered to vote this year, which is up from 1.98 million in 2022, 1.93 million in 2020 and 1.74 million in 2016. As of Friday, more than 500,000 people and counting had voted early, a 25% turnout ahead of Election Day.

“We are on track to set a record, so I encourage every voter to get out and exercise their constitutional right,” Schwab said in a Friday news release.

Estimates from the IKE Lab, a project overseen by two associate professors in Wichita State University’s political science department, put the number of in-person early ballots cast at more than 526,000 Monday. That’s compared to about 373,000 early votes cast in-person in 2020 and nearly 275,000 early votes in 2022.

About 53% of this year’s early ballots came from Republicans and almost 30% from Democrats, according to the lab. Nearly 54% of early in-person ballots came from women.

Almost 75% of ballots mailed to voters ahead of the election have been returned, the Secretary of State’s Office wrote Saturday in a post to social media platform X, formerly Twitter. In 2020, more than 508,000 ballots were mailed ahead of Election Day, and about 393,000 were returned. About 319,000 people voted in-person in advance of the 2020 election, according to data from the office.

“While we are comparing this year’s advance voting data to 2020 and 2016 elections, remember that the 2020 cycle was unusual due to the pandemic. Take that year with a grain of salt,” Schwab said.

Polls close at 7 p.m. Tuesday, and the Secretary of State’s Office is scheduled to begin releasing results around that time on its website, sos.ks.gov. Kansans must provide a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. Mail-in ballots must be postmarked by Tuesday and delivered to the county election office by Friday, or may be returned on Election Day to any polling place, county election office or ballot drop box. Electioneering is not allowed within 250 feet of a polling place. Voter concerns or suspicious activity can be reported to the Secretary of State’s Office online or via phone at 800-262-8683.

Schwab encouraged voters in a Monday news release to prepare for voting on Election Day by confirming their polling location via myvoteinfo.voteks.org and viewing a sample ballot.

“Having a voting plan is beneficial and can help ensure a smooth voting experience on Election Day,” Schwab said.

Voter hotline

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas is one of a handful of organizations administering the state’s Election Protection program.

Kunyu Ching, a staff attorney with the organization, said in a Monday news release that program volunteers are anticipating simple issues on Election Day, such as voters visiting the incorrect polling location.

“We’re also prepared to address and escalate more serious issues, such as an election worker with a misunderstanding about the law, or voter intimidation by a third party trying to prevent someone from voting,” Ching said.

The ACLU in partnership with national civil rights nonprofit the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights; Kansas City, Missouri-based law firm Stinson LLP; and Topeka-based voter advocacy group Loud Light operate a voter assistance hotline and monitor polling locations throughout the state to observe and document any issues.

The hotline is available from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Election Day and the three days following, and it can be reached at the following numbers:

Voters can call the hotline to report issues or questions, including those that are “resolved at the time without intervention but nevertheless could indicate a trend or issue potentially affecting others,” the ACLU of Kansas news release said.

Felony convictions

The ACLU of Kansas also released a report Thursday that found almost 85,000 Kansans have past felony convictions and are eligible to vote, but the vast majority haven’t registered.

The report estimated about 71,000 people with former felony convictions, or 2% of Kansas’ population, are eligible to vote and not registered.

To remedy the registration gap, the ACLU of Kansas suggested a number of policy recommendations, including automatic voting rights restoration, a synchronization of statewide voter registration databases, and vote from jail programs.

“Democracy is at its core the idea that each of us counts and has a say in our decision-making as a community,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas. “And in 2024, the absence of returning Kansans from our electoral process impoverishes our democracy, government accountability, policy outcomes that impact all of us.”

Kansas Reflector is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Kansas Reflector maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sherman Smith for questions: info@kansasreflector.com. Follow Kansas Reflector on Facebook and X.