Post updated at 5:23 p.m. Tuesday:
Voter turnout at polling places in Douglas County as of Tuesday afternoon ranged from just short of 10% at one polling place to more than 60% at another.
According to data from the clerk’s office, as of 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, KU’s Burge Union, 1565 Irving Hill Road, had only seen about 10% turnout. Clinton Township Hall, however, had seen about 63% turnout, and the average turnout across the county was about 41%. (See the full PDF below.)
For comparison, more than 57% of Douglas County voters cast ballots in the Aug. 2 primary election; in the 2020 general election, turnout was 73%.
Just a handful of voters dropped by the Burge to cast their ballots over the course of about an hour Tuesday morning. Among them was Bryna Huber, a 22-year-old law student from Burlington.
Huber said she believes that voting is a right every citizen should exercise.
“With it being the midterms, and with there being a couple of amendments to the Constitution, I definitely wanted to make sure my voice was heard,” Huber said.
Lawrence local Zachary Pascalar, 23, spent his morning volunteering in the Burge.
“I very strongly believe in democracy, and I noticed that an awful lot of the candidates running don’t seem to believe in that,” Pascalar said. ”I wanted to make sure that those people stay as far away from government as possible.”
Interior architecture student Kellen McGowan, 18, said it’s important for everyone who has the privilege of voting to go out and do so.
“I have the ability to vote, so I might as well go out and use that ability,” McGowan said.
Tuesday afternoon, voting had picked up at First Presbyterian Church, 2415 Clinton Parkway.
According to the 3:30 p.m. polling place check from the Douglas County clerk’s office, that precinct had seen about 42% voter turnout, though about two-thirds of those voters cast ballots in advance.
Don Cackler, 73, has been a poll worker since 2008. The Lawrence local said that although the stream of voters at First Presbyterian Church remained steady throughout the day, it was nothing like the Aug. 2 primary election.
“In August, we had people lined up all the way out the door every minute of every day,” Cackler said. ”There were still 70-75 people waiting to vote when we had to cut the line off.”
Lawrence residents Janae (left) and Olivia Lubega left with two stickers: Janae’s declaring “I voted” and another marking Olivia as a “future voter.”
The biggest issue on 37-year-old Janae’s mind when she cast her ballot? “Education is a big one — having a child in the school system, I want to be aware of that,” Janae said.
Cole Brown, 41, said it’s important to vote because individual voices need to be heard.
Varell Unruh-Carey, 35, from Cedar Falls, Iowa, said he voted in order to write in every Libertarian candidate who’s running.
“I think things are going well, and I think Laura Kelly’s doing a good job,” Unruh-Carey said.
Allison Johnson, a 37-year-old Lawrence local, also said voting is a chance to make your voice heard.
“Whether you think your vote makes a difference or not, it does — so you should get out and vote,” Johnson said.
330PM-CheckPolls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday. Much more info at the links below.
Don’t forget to make your voice heard. Here’s a collection of helpful info for Lawrence and Douglas County voters:
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Chloe Anderson (she/her) contributed to The Lawrence Times from August 2022 through May 2023. She is also published in Climbing magazine, Kansas Reflector and Sharp End Publishing. As a recent graduate of the University of Kansas, Chloe plans to continue her career in photography, rock climbing and writing somewhere out West.
You can view her portfolio, articles and commissioned work here. Check out more of her work for the Times here.
Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of The Lawrence Times, can be reached at mclark@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.
More Election 2022 coverage:
August Rudisell/Lawrence Times
Molly Adams / Lawrence Times
