COVID-19 causes some changes in upcoming elections

At the Marion County Board of Commissioners meeting on Monday, May 18, County Clerk and Election Officer Tina Spencer took a little time to go over how the elections would look different this fall in light of COVID-19.

Spencer reported that the return envelope for advance ballots by mail is being redesigned for a higher level of privacy in anticipation of a larger number of voters utilizing the option of advance voting by mail in 2020.

She stated that federal funding not to exceed $11,883.99 will be received by Marion County for specific election expenses related to COVID-19. In addition, the County will receive a limited supply of personal protective equipment from the Secretary of State for polling place use.

In addition, the polling places will be open on Election Day and early, in-person voting will still be offered at the Courthouse. Safety precautions will be implemented in regard to COVID-19.

“I would really like to encourage everyone to take a couple of minutes and check their voter registration to verify that everything is up to date. This will save them time and effort on Election Day,” said Spencer. “They can do that by going to the Kansas Secretary of State’s Voter View site and entering their name and birthdate: https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. They will be able to see the address we have on file in their voter record, their party, precinct, polling place, and even more.”

Spencer pointed out that if information is not up to date, it can easily be corrected by completing a new voter registration. Go to https://www.kdor.ks.gov/Apps/VoterReg/Default.aspx for online registration or http://www.kssos.org/forms/elections/voterregistration.pdf for the paper form to complete and send to the county office.

“They can also register in person at our office during business hours,” said Spencer. “Also, the deadline to file for office is JUNE 1st at noon in my office. That is also the deadline for party changes for everyone except unaffiliated voters.”

Unaffiliated voters must declare a party before being issued a ballot if they vote in the Primary.

A list of offices up for election was reviewed. Spencer also provided a more updated list on Friday, May 22. It is as follows:

Offices up for election:
National Offices

President/Vice President (on November ballot only)

U.S. Senator

U.S. Representative – 1st District

State Offices

State Senator – 35th District

State Representative – 70th District

State Representative – 74th District

County Offices

County Commissioner – District 2

County Commissioner – District 3

County Commissioner – District 4 (unexpired term)

County Commissioner – District 5 (unexpired term)

County Attorney

County Clerk

County Treasurer

County Register of Deeds

County Sheriff

Township Offices

Township Trustee

Township Treasurer

City Offices (November only unless primary is needed (Non-Partisan))

Burns – Council (3 positions)

Hillsboro – Ward 1 Council (1 position)

Hillsboro – Ward 2 Council (1 position)

Ramona – Mayor

Ramona – Council (2 positions)

Precinct Offices – PRIMARY ONLY

Precinct Committeemen

Precinct Committeewomen

Judicial Offices – GENERAL ONLY

Kansas Supreme Court Justices

Court of Appeals Judges

District Court Judges – District 8

 

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