Big questions and representation at the local, state and national levels are on Lawrence voters’ ballots for the Nov. 5 general election. Here’s our key need-to-know election info, all in one place.
Five Douglas County elected offices and several state Legislature seats representing Lawrence and Douglas County are up for grabs this election year.
In addition to all the coverage below, you can see our YouTube playlist of candidate forum recordings at this link or by visiting our YouTube channel, youtube.com/@LawrenceKSTimes.
You’ll find additional and ongoing news coverage of the election — including results once they become available shortly after 7 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5 — at lawrencekstimes.com/election2024.
Quick must-know details:
• Check which districts you’re in and where to go to vote by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org. (Pro tip: Take a screenshot so you can reference your districts again quickly!) You can also find a sample ballot.
• Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Primary Election Day, which is Tuesday, Nov. 5. You will need a driver’s license or valid ID to cast your ballot in person. As long as you’re in line to vote by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to cast your ballot.
• If you received an advance ballot to vote by mail, you can take it to any polling place or any ballot dropbox until 7 p.m. on Election Day. If you mail it, it must be postmarked on or before Election Day to be counted; however, the secretary of state is encouraging people to mail ballots well ahead of time this year.
• Trouble at the polls? Contact the ACLU election protection hotline.
(That’s 866-687-8683 for English; 888-839-8682 for Spanish; 888-274-8683 for Asian languages; and 844-925-5287 for Arabic.)
Quick breakdown of what’s on the ballot in local and state races:
• Two ballot questions for Lawrence voters: form of government and a sales tax increase
• Douglas County district attorney and four of five Douglas County Commission seats
• Four Kansas Senate seats and several Kansas House seats representing Lawrence and Douglas County (though some House candidates are unopposed)
• Two Kansas State Board of Education seats representing Lawrence and Douglas County
• Several Douglas County District Court and Kansas Court of Appeals judges facing retention votes
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Jump to a section:
• City of Lawrence ballot questions
• Douglas County district attorney race
• Douglas County Commission races
• Kansas Senate races
• Kansas House races
• Kansas State Board of Education
• Judicial retention votes
• Unopposed county races
Have a question that isn’t answered in our coverage? Please let us know ASAP!
City of Lawrence ballot questions:
Don’t forget to flip your ballot over for these two items, Lawrence voters.
Douglas County district attorney race:
This is a countywide seat, so all Douglas County voters will see this race on their ballots.
Douglas County Commission race:
All Douglas County Commission candidates participated in our questionnaire.
Two incumbent Democrats are running to keep their seats, one facing a Republican challenger and the other an Independent challenger. Voters will also choose the first commissioners to represent the newly created Districts 4 and 5 after county voters in 2022 voted about 61% to 39% to expand the commission to five districts.
Double-check your district by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
The District 1 seat, currently held by Patrick Kelly, was included in the 2022 election. Commissioners serve four-year terms, so that seat will be on the ballot again in 2026.
Carter Gaskins/Lawrence Times
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Candidates for Kansas Senate:
Voters will select four candidates to represent parts of Lawrence and/or Douglas County for six-year terms in the Kansas Senate. Unfortunately, only one Republican candidate responded to our questionnaire, though all candidates were given the opportunity.
Double-check your district by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
Candidates for Kansas House:
Four Democrats are running against Republican incumbents for Kansas House seats that include parts of Lawrence and/or Douglas County. Unfortunately, none of the Republican candidates responded to our questionnaire, though all were given the opportunity.
Double-check your district by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
Wait … where’s my House district?
Incumbents in House Districts 43, 44 and 45 (Republican Rep. Bill Sutton, Democratic Rep. Barbara Ballard and Democratic Rep. Mike Amyx, respectively) are running unopposed.
Democratic candidates Brooklynne Mosley and Suzanne Wikle won the Aug. 6 primary races for House District 46 and 10, respectively, and they face no opponents in the general election. Read their primary questionnaire responses at the links below.
Kansas State Board of Education
Double-check your district by visiting myvoteinfo.voteks.org.
Judicial retention votes
Kansas Reflector posted an article about attorneys with the Kansas Bar Association grading Court of Appeals judges on their performance. That article is below and the reports on each judge can be found at this link.
In Douglas County District Court, Chief Judge James McCabria and Judges Catherine Theisen, Mark Simpson and Carl Folsom III are up for retention. Although we do not have hard data about them like the KBA’s surveys, The Lawrence Times has not heard any objections or concerns, from members of the legal community or otherwise, about any of these judges.
Unopposed county races
At the Douglas County level, Sheriff Jay Armbrister, Treasurer Adam Rains and Register of Deeds Kent Brown each won their Democratic primary elections in 2020 and ran unopposed in the general election that year. All three are running unopposed this year.
Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew, also a Democrat, was first elected in 2004. He has not faced an opponent since ’04, and he’s running for his sixth term.
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This post is by the Lawrence Times news team.
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