Post updated at 5:36 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2:
Douglas County voters have surpassed the previous record number of early in-person ballots cast — by more than 4,000 votes.
The previous record was in the 2016 general election, when in-person early voters cast 15,637 advance ballots, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said Thursday. He’d anticipated that record would be broken Friday.
Indeed, it was. According to Saturday morning’s stats from the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office, accessed via IKE Lab, early voters in Douglas County had cast 17,832 ballots in person even before early voting hours began Saturday morning. That’s 2,195 more than the previous record, with two more days’ worth of early voting still to be added before Election Day.
In an update after Saturday voting hours concluded, the elections office announced that 19,989 early in-person ballots had been cast — 4,352 more than the previous record.
In addition, the county had received 9,725 mail-in ballots as of Saturday morning. Another 14,294 had been sent, meaning 4,659 are awaiting return to the elections office.
Altogether, early ballots cast — including those in person and those that have been returned to the elections office through Saturday morning — represent more than one-third of registered Douglas County voters.
Of the nearly 18,000 in-person ballots already cast by Saturday morning, about 52.4% were from registered Democrats; 28.4% were from Republicans; and 18.5% were from unaffiliated voters. See more stats at IKE Lab, ike-lab.com.
Saturday early voting wrapped at 3 p.m. The final opportunity to vote early in person will be from 8 a.m. to noon Monday, Nov. 4 at the elections office, 711 W. 23rd St., Suite 1 in Lawrence. Polls must close at noon Monday under state law.
Voters who have received advance ballots should not mail their ballots at this point in order to ensure they arrive on time at the elections office.
See a list of ballot dropboxes at this link.
You can also take your advance ballot to any polling place on Election Day. Ballot dropboxes will be locked at 7 p.m. on Election Day.
Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day, Tuesday, Nov. 5. As long as you’re in line to vote by 7 p.m., you will be allowed to cast your ballot.
Voters will need to report to their assigned polling places to vote on Election Day. Find out where to go by inputting your information or searching for an address at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. You will need a driver’s license or valid ID to cast your ballot in person.
Learn more about how to cast your ballot in Douglas County in this article. See more election coverage at the links below.
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Mackenzie Clark/Lawrence Times
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.
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