Kansas held primary elections last Tuesday, for local municipal and school board related positions. Typically, these off-off year elections are low turnout affairs, even more so in the primaries. This held true in 2019, unfortunately. The enthusiasm of 2018, and the anticipated record-breaking turnout of 2020 was nowhere to be seen last week. But you can make it better.
Turnout for August 6th, 2019
Fourteen Kansas counties held primary elections last week. Here are the turnout results (still unofficial at this point, until ballots are canvassed):
Allen - 9.88%
Bourbon - 13.71%
Brown - 9.62%
Chautauqua - 24.63%
Grant - 13.28%
Greenwood - unavailable
Johnson - 8.28%
Labette - unavailable
Miami - unavailable
Neosho - 27%
Reno - 6.34%
Rice - unavailable
Sedgwick - 10%
Wyandotte - 9.54%
These results fall in line with expected low numbers. Four counties have not posted either results or turnout numbers (presumably until the official canvass is over). The two highest turnouts, in Chautauqua and Neosho counties, involved 619 ballots cast.
Some rough back of the envelope unofficial results math provides these interesting numbers:
- 42% of registered voters in Kansas had an election last week
- 9% of them voted
Any way you look at it, that's a terrible result, and means 9 out of 10 of those Kansans may not be well represented in their local and county government.
Kansas needs you to make turnout better
You can boost turnout in November's general election. And that will, in turn, boost turnout in 2020, which we all know is quite possibly the most important election in a generation.
It is shocking how many people—people you know—just don't know how to vote. From young folks who don't know how to get a stamp for their mail-in ballot, to people who don't know there's an election before November 2020. Lock them in this year, and we can put our energy on other people next year.
People who vote once are much more likely to vote again. All they need is a little push to the polls.
Won't you please look at our non-partisan, peer get-out-the-vote project, Voter to Voter? It is easy, involves only connecting with people you already know, and is amazingly effective. But it needs you to make it even better.
Do more than vote.
