Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew wants to make sure local voters know about a new state law that invalidates their advance ballots if they don’t arrive by Election Day.
Shew spoke at the League of Women Voters of Lawrence-Douglas County’s event, “Voting in the Midterms: Fact vs. Myths,” Tuesday evening, addressing upcoming midterm elections, voters’ rights and the recent change of no three-day grace period for mail-in ballots. Dennis “Boog” Highberger, president of the league and longtime former Kansas state representative, moderated the event.
“We are asking questions we’ve never had to ask,” Shew said. “One of those is ‘Would the federal government try to take over the elections?’ I honestly feel that would be a pretty strong line to cross, and I don’t know any state that would support that.”
Shew and Highberger discussed the recent change of no three-day grace period. Kansas law now requires mail-in ballots to be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day, rather than being received within three days after Election Day, in order to be counted.
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“The removal of that is going to have a huge impact. We’re really working on how we communicate that to voters,” Shew said. “If you’re going to mail it back, you need to mail it back as soon as you get it. You cannot wait.”
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Shew said it takes a mail-in ballot eight or nine days to get to the county clerk’s office after arriving at the post office. There will be ballot dropboxes set up around Lawrence and in Baldwin City, Eudora and Lecompton when advance voting begins on July 15.
A lawsuit challenging the law is ongoing in Douglas County District Court.
When asked if the president can interfere with midterm elections, Shew said the time, place, manner and choosing of elections is up to the states, per Article I of the Constitution.
“It is the foundation of our entire system that the states run elections,” Shew said. “Elections to me is one of the greatest examples of federalism there is in the United States.”
Highberger asked a question from the audience about the legality of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents showing up to polling places.
“There is a law that says that there can be no federal presence in a polling place. The question is what defines a polling place,” Shew said. “We’ve talked with local law enforcement, but I want to be clear that it’s not because I believe that’s going to happen. I just don’t want to be surprised if that really small chance were to happen.”
Shew, now in his sixth term, has served as county clerk and county election officer since he was first elected in 2004.
He also discussed what voting could look like down the line, saying he is most concerned with 18- to 24-year-olds because of the elections that have occurred in their lifetimes.
“Their entire life, they have heard that elections are broken, that elections are rigged,” Shew said. “… I can tell you they’re pretty much jaded about the entire system, about parties, about voting.”
Attendee Anna Shouse said voters should be thoughtful about voting and select people who care about the well-being of Kansas.
“I really hope they’ll come out to vote and that they get good information, and don’t just get confused by other stuff that they hear,” Shouse said. “They should get real information from the county clerk so that they really know what’s going on.”
Shew also expressed gratitude for polling place volunteers and the long days they dedicate their time to. He said no matter what role they have, he teaches them the entire process — which he said can take about four hours.
“The people who work on Election Day are the heartbeat of elections,” Shew said. “I believe in a full understanding about how that process works. Even though you might be the greeter for the day, I want you to be able to explain the whole process.”
Maxine Younes has been a polling volunteer for the past four presidential elections. She said Douglas County has a good system for elections, thanks to Shew.
“It’s very secure,” Younes said. “People always say bad things happen other places, but at least you can say with complete confidence, ‘Not in Douglas County.’”
Shew also recommended community members check out the election data dashboard on the county website for further county voter data.
Community members can also subscribe to “The Ballot Box” for voting updates, deadlines and more sent via email. Shew calls it an “old-school blog” that’s meant to combat election misinformation online.
Primary election dates to know:
• Tuesday, July 14 — The final day to register to vote or update your voter registration for the primary election. Douglas County voters can register quickly and/or request a mail ballot online at KSVotes.org.
• Wednesday, July 15 — In-person advance voting begins, and advance ballots are mailed.
• Tuesday, July 28 — The final day to request a mail ballot.
• Monday, Aug. 3 — In-person advance voting ends at noon.
• Tuesday, Aug. 4 — Election Day! Polling places are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your polling place at this link. The elections office must receive all advance ballots by 7 p.m.
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Maya Smith (she/her), reporting intern, has worked with The Lawrence Times since February 2026. She was born and raised in Lawrence and is a journalism student at the University of Kansas. She works at the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications as a communications assistant and has been a freelance reporter for the Kansas Reflector since 2024. Read her work for the Times at this link.
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