Month: August 2017

Incumbents are doing well in the first group of election returns from the Wyandotte County Election office.

They are incomplete, unofficial returns.

For the mayor’s race, incumbent Mayor Mark Holland is leading with 2,067 votes, followed by David Alvey with 1,112 and David Haley with 818. Janice Witt has 293 and Keith Jordan, 96.

Incumbent Sheriff Donald Ash is leading with 2,194 votes to Celisha Towers’ 968 and Victor Webb, 497.

Incumbent BPU member, position 1, at-large, Mary Gonzales is leading with 2,099 votes, with with Bryan Messmer at 599, Nikole C. Owens at 599, and Kevin Braun at 534.

For UG Commission, 5th District, incumbent Mike Kane is leading, with 654, Sarah Kremer has 408, and John T. Fotovich, 150.

For UG Commission, 7th District, Jim Walters, incumbent, is leading with 238 votes; George Cooper has 138 and Jim GIbson, 113.

For UG Commission, 8th District, Jane Philbrook is leading with 425 votes; Kendon McClaine has 129 and Brad Isnard, 55.

Primary election results, unofficial incomplete results

With 4,404 votes cast, 5.71 percent

UG Mayor- Chief Executive Officer
David Alvey 1,112
David Haley 818
Mark R. Holland, incumbent 2,067
D. Keith Jordan 96
Janice Grant Witt 293

UG Commissioner, 5th District
John T. Fotovich 150
Mike Kane 654
Sarah Kremer 408

UG Commissioner, 7th District
George Cooper 138
Jim A. Gibson 113
Jim Walters, incumbent 238

UG Commissioner, 8th District
Brad Isnard 55
Kendon McClaine 129
Jane W. Philbrook, incumbent 425

Sheriff
Donald Ash, incumbent 2,194
Charles W. Bunnell 255
Marvin L. Main 323
Celisha Towers 968
Victor Webb 497

BPU member, position 1, at-large
Kevin Braun 534
Mary Gonzales, incumbent 2,099
Bryan Messmer 599
Nikole C. Owens 599

by Mary Rupert

As of 5:30 p.m. Aug. 1, voting in Wyandotte County was at 14.7 percent, according to Election Commissioner Bruce Newby.

Voting for the primary election closes today at 7 p.m. at voters’ regular polling places throughout the county.

Newby said there had been 3,003 ballots returned by mail by today, and there were 8,407 persons who have voted in person.

The in-person vote included 1,397 who voted early in person, during advance voting at the election office and at a satellite location in the west, he said.

Newby said he had been predicting a 15 to 20 percent turnout in the primary, based on past elections.

The state law has changed on advance ballots, and voters are now allowed to drop off advance ballots at any polling place in Wyandotte County or the election office as long as they get it there by 7 p.m. today, Newby said.

That means the advance ballots will come in tonight, and the election office then will tabulate those votes on Friday, he said. Also, voters are allowed to mail a ballot back and get it postmarked by 7 p.m. today for it to count – and those votes also would be counted by Friday if they are received by the election office, he said.

That means there will be an unofficial result tonight, and another figure will be the unofficial final result on Friday, he said.

As many as 1,000 mail ballots have not been received yet that were sent out, and that is about the maximum of the additional votes that may come in, he said.

The Wyandotte County Board of Canvassers will meet on Monday to consider provisional ballots, and then a final official result will be published, Newby said.

Besides a new summer primary election date and new rules for turning in mail ballots, the election office has new voting machines in the polls this year, he said.

There are 150 new touch screens with 80 ballot box scanners, he added. Voters who opt for the touch screen mark a ballot through touching the screen, a ballot card is printed out, and the voter takes the card to a ballot box and inserts it for the count, Newby said.

Now the election office will have a complete paper record of every vote cast in every election, and with the old touch-screen system it did not have the paper record, he said. With the new system, voters may review their ballot before they cast it, he added.

Voters still can use paper ballots, too, which are inserted into a counter.

Turnout at last year’s general election was 20.5 percent. At the primary election four years ago, Wyandotte County had a snowstorm that crippled travel and turnout was only 7.9 percent. That primary figure from four years ago has already been doubled, Newby said.