Wyandotte mail-in ballot debacle raises big questions for primary, offer opportunity for improvement

This “slip-up” appears noticeably consistent with the Trump administration’s attempts to disrupt mail-in ballots before the midterm elections.

Based on the recent responses of Wyandotte County election commissioner Michael Abbott in Kansas Reflector, little has been done to resolve the situation. We would like some answers:

• How and why was this allowed to happen at such a critical time in the primary election cycle? What will be done to ensure that it does not happen in the future?
• What will an improved mail-in ballot process look like moving forward? How will such a process be implemented?
• Of the ballots that are outstanding, what is the Wyandotte County Election Office doing to rectify the situation, other than working with the post office? Are mail-in ballot voters being notified individually? If not, why not?
• How can voters ensure their ballots are counted if caught up in the postal system because of the Wyandotte County Election Office error?
• What exactly is meant by the election commissioner’s comment that the issue has been resolved with the post office?

Wyandotte County residents have seen this before. This incident reminds me of the advance voting debacle of 2020, when then-election commissioner Bruce Newby battled with the unified government over the lack of ballot drop boxes.

At the time, the Kansas City Star reported that Wyandotte County received only two drop boxes, or one for every 44,764 registered voters, compared with much less populous counties, such as Wabaunsee, which received four, or one for every 1,255 registered voters. Guidance provided from a subagency of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency), advised that there should be one mail ballot drop box available for every 15,000 to 20,000 registered voters.

Newby stated, had he known, he would have ordered more drop boxes, but they were expensive and he had to persuade the unified government to order them. The county said it relied on the election commissioner to inform it of voter needs, and commissioners would have ordered more boxes, had they been aware.

Currently, Wyandotte County has four ballot drop box locations:

• Bonner Springs Library, 201 N. Nettleton Ave., Bonner Springs.
• Edwardsville City Hall, 690 S. 4th Street, Edwardsville.
• Wyandotte County Election Office, 850 State Ave., Kansas City, Kansas.
• Wyandotte West Library, 1737 N. 82nd Street, Kansas City, Kansas.

The Star article included additional criticisms aimed at the Wyandotte County Election Office by Kansas Democrats. They stated that Wyandotte County had only three in-person early voting locations, and they didn’t offer evening hours.

“The fact is I have offered evening hours before, extended weekend hours before and nobody shows,” Newby said at the time. “I refuse to be beat up because I’m not doing what the KDP thinks I should be doing. They don’t fund my budget. The unified government does.”

Since then, the numbers and hours of Wyandotte County advance voting sites and ballot drop box locations have changed. This election cycle, Wyandotte County had five in-person early voting locations.

Advance voting started 10 days before the primary election and included both Saturdays, July 25 and Aug. 1, with hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. During pre-election weekdays, July 27 to July 31, the hours were 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. All locations were closed on the Monday before Election Day, except for the Wyandotte County Election Office, which was open from 8 a.m. to noon.

This contrasts with the other three largest Kansas counties: Johnson, Sedgwick and Shawnee.

Johnson County, the most populous, had 16 mail ballot drop box locations starting 20 days before Election Day. In addition, Johnson County had 12 early in-person voting locations and 17 days of in-person advance voting before the primary. The Saturday and weekday advance voting sites were open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. The in-person locations were all open the day before Election Day from 8 a.m. to noon.

Sedgwick County has 17 community-located, outside ballot drop box locations open 24/7 during active voting periods. They are all closed simultaneously at 7 p.m. on Election Day. The county had 20 satellite early in-person voting locations, which are currently closed except for the Sedgwick County Election Office, which was open Monday from 8 a.m. to noon.

Shawnee County is closest to Wyandotte County in population. Shawnee County had one advance mail ballot drop box location in Topeka at the Shawnee County Election Office and one early in-person voting location, also at the election office. Hours from July 20 to July 24 and July 27 to July 31 were 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The office is closed on Saturdays. On Monday, the office was open 8 a.m. to noon.

As seen above, some strides have been made in Wyandotte County, likely due to pressure from community and other organizations. Activists may need to exert pressure again.

To avoid future problems and ensure voting rights opportunities for all Wyandotte residents, the Wyandotte County Election Commission should consider adding a tool called Ballot Tracker to its voter services. The service is used by Douglas County (the fifth-largest Kansas county), and in other states, including Virginia and Arizona. This online program allows voters to track their mailed ballots and progress, potentially avoiding the voter disqualification issues we are faced with now.

A statewide implementation of the Ballot Tracker would keep voters informed of the location of their mail-in ballots, while increasing confidence in election security.

Connie Brown Collins is the founder and executive director of the nonprofit organization Voter Rights Network of Wyandotte County. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.