Live updates: Election turnout up in Wyandotte County; many KS voters focused on abortion

Polls in Kansas will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m Tuesday as voters make their picks in the primary elections for governor, representatives in Washington, D.C. and Topeka and various other statewide positions.

Regardless of party affiliation, Kansans can also vote on an amendment that would remove the right to abortion from the state constitution. The Star put together a guide to help voters weed out common misinformation surrounding the amendment.

In the gubernatorial primary, incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly will face Democratic challenger Richard S. Karnowski. In the GOP primary, Kelly’s likely opponent in the general election, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, will face Republican Arlyn Briggs.

Voters will also choose candidates in the race for attorney general. Three Republican candidates, former federal prosecutor Tony Mattivi, Leawood state Sen. Kellie Warren and former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, will face off to see who will run against Democratic candidate Chris Mann in the general election.

Biden celebrates abortion rights victory in Kansas

Updated 11:15 p.m. President Joe Biden on Tuesday night celebrated the failure of a constitutional amendment to eliminate the right to an abortion in Kansas, a significant win for the abortion rights movement in the first popular vote on the issue in the aftermath of a U.S. Supreme Court decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

“Voters in Kansas turned out in record numbers to reject extreme efforts to amend the state constitution to take away a woman’s right to choose and open the door for a state-wide ban,” Biden said.

“This vote makes clear what we know: the majority of Americans agree that women should have access to abortion and should have the right to make their own health care decisions.”

He used the vote to call on Congress to pass a law codifying Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that said there was a federal right to an abortion.

Samsel loses primary to GOP challenger

Updated 11:13 p.m. After a controversial term including his arrest last year, Kansas Rep. Mark Samsel lost his Republican primary on Tuesday to conservative challenger Carrie Barth, according to unofficial election results.

The Associated Press called the race for Barth at 10:37 p.m. With 36 of 53 precincts reporting, she led with 65%, or 2,200 votes, while Samsel, a moderate incumbent, received 35%, or 1,180 votes.

The Republican primary winner is poised to win the 5th House District, as there is no Democrat running for the seat. The district covers parts of Douglas, Franklin, Johnson and Miami counties.

Davids and Adkins to rematch in Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District

Updated 10:28 p.m. Democratic Rep. Sharice Davids will once again face off against Republican Amanda Adkins in the general election to represent Kansas’ 3rd Congressional District, in a repeat of the 2020 race that Davids’ won by 10 percentage points.

Both Davids and Adkins coasted to victory in their respective primaries Tuesday night, as Republicans coalesced around Adkins well before Election Day to take on the Democratic incumbent.

They now officially head into a campaign both sides have already been waging for months.

Coleman loses seat to newcomer with party backing

Updated 10:22 p.m. Kansas Rep. Aaron Coleman, who has faced multiple abuse allegations and was arrested twice during his first term, handily lost his Democratic primary on Tuesday to a newcomer who had the backing of the party establishment, according to unofficial election results.

Melissa Oropeza, a health care professional with a doctorate in nursing, appeared to win with 49%, or 1,203 votes, followed by Faith Rivera, a longtime community activist, with 38%, or 923 votes. Coleman, the 21-year-old freshman lawmaker, received 13%, or 321 votes, according to Wyandotte County election results.

Oropeza goes on to compete for the 37th House District seat in the general election against Diana Whittington, the lone Republican candidate.

The recently redrawn district lies in eastern Wyandotte County, generally bordered by Parallel Parkway on the north, Kansas Avenue on the south, 94th Street on the west and the county line on the east.

Wyandotte County elects first Black woman as district court judge

Updated 10 p.m. One of the longest tenured judges in Wyandotte County was unseated by his primary challenger in Tuesday’s election.

With 11,796 votes, assistant district attorney Candice Alcaraz won 69% of the votes against Division 16 Judge Wes Griffin, who was elected in 2008.

Alcaraz is the first Black woman to be elected district court judge in Wyandotte County.

Kansas rejects constitutional amendment on abortion

Updated 9:51 p.m. The right to an abortion will remain in the Kansas Constitution.

In the first ballot test of abortion rights in a post-Roe America, Kansas voters turned out in historic numbers to overwhelmingly reject a constitutional amendment that would have opened the door for state lawmakers to further restrict or ban abortions across the state.

The Associated Press called the race at 9:40 p.m central.

The vote stands as a major win for abortion rights advocates, preserving access in a red state as the procedure is banned or severely restricted in much of the region.

It upholds a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court ruling that, in response to an attempt to ban a common 2nd trimester abortion procedure, said Kansans had a right to bodily autonomy and therefore the right to terminate a pregnancy.

Race called for Kelly and Schmidt in primaries

Updated 8:07 p.m. Kansas Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican state Attorney General Derek Schmidt are heading into a knockout fight this fall as Kelly attempts to become the first Kansas governor since 1968 to win re-election while their party controls the White House.

The governor’s race is expected to ramp up dramatically now that Kelly and Schmidt have officially won their parties’ respective nominations.

The Associated Press called the Republican race for Schmidt and the Democratic race for Kelly at 8 p.m.

WyCo judgeships

Updated 7 p.m. In late June, Marvin Bell heard his doorbell ring at his home in the Welborn neighborhood of Kansas City, Kansas. At his door were representatives of Candice Alcaraz, who is running against Division 16 Wyandotte County District Court Judge West Griffin.

Also facing a primary challenger was Division 12 Judge Tony Martinez, who was elected in 2019. His opponent is David Patrzykont, an attorney and firefighter in Wyandotte County. If elected, he has said he would relinquish his firefighter duties.

Bell said only Alcaraz’s representatives were the ones who showed up to his home and asked if they could put a campaign sign on his lawn. He said yes.

Bell ended up voting for Alcaraz on Tuesday, which would make her the first Black woman to become a district court judge in Wyandotte County. Bell, 54, said he was disappointed that no other candidates campaigned in his neighborhood. He wishes they had so he could learn more about them and their positions.

He thinks it’s important for voters to be informed on candidates and that information should be easily accessible to voters.

“The local elections, that’s where a lot of decisions that affect us happen,” Bell said.

Pro-life but voted no

Updated at 6:35 p.m. Martha Gonzalez describes herself as pro-life and Catholic. It’s how she was raised in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico. But Tuesday at St. Andrews Missionary Baptist Church in Kansas City, Kansas, Gonzalez said she voted against the abortion amendment.

“I don’t agree that a woman shouldn’t be able to get an abortion,” Gonzalez, 55, said in Spanish, which has been translated. “Even though I’m pro-life, women should have the right to choose.”

Gonzalez has lived in Kansas City, Kansas, for 15 years, she said. She became a citizen shortly before President Barack Obama was elected in 2008. That was the first election she voted in and she has cast a ballot in every election since.

On Tuesday, she also voted for Division 12 District Court judge Tony Martinez, one of the 10 candidates running for eight judgeship positions in Wyandotte County. Martinez was elected in 2019 and faces a primary challenger in David Patrzykont, an attorney and firefighter in Wyandotte County. She said it was important to support the Latino candidates in the race.

Gonzalez also supported Candice Alcaraz, who is running to unseat Division 16 Judge Wes Griffin, who has been on the bench since 2008. Alcaraz, a prosecutor with Wyandotte County’s District Attorney’s Office, would become the first Black woman elected as judge in the county’s history.

Polls in Kansas close at 7 p.m., but voters who are in line at 7 p.m. can still cast a ballot.

Voter turnout up in WyCo

Updated 5 p.m. Election Commissioner Michael Abbott said around 4 p.m. that he predicts voter turnout to be between 30% to 40%, and could go even higher depending on what happens after 5 p.m. when the workday typically ends.

In recent years, Wyandotte County has seen a pattern of low voter turnout. For the 2018 August primary election, turnout was 25%. Participation increased to 51% for the 2018 midterm election and shot up to 61% for the 2020 Presidential election. But in the November 2021 election — where voters elected Mayor Tyrone Garner, five commissioners and a new sheriff — just 19% of the eligible population cast a ballot.

Polls close at 7 p.m.

WyCo voter turned away in ‘innocent mistake’

Updated 4:41 p.m. A person who tried voting at the Bonner Springs YMCA was turned away after an election worker at the polling site mistakenly thought that the voter’s Missouri driver’s license was expired, Wyandotte County’s top election official said.

Election Commissioner Michael Abbott said it was an “innocent mistake.”

Abbott said the worker likely confused the issue date on the driver’s license with the expiration date. The license had not yet expired, he said, and the person should have been allowed to cast a ballot in Tuesday’s primary election. If the person goes back, they would be allowed to vote.

Huelskamp-led PAC linked to misleading abortion texts

Updated 4:31 p.m. A political action committee chaired by former U.S. Rep. Tim Huelskamp spent more than $26,000 on Alliance Forge, the Republican-linked tech firm that leased the phone numbers used to send misleading text messages advocating for an amendment stripping abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution.

Do Right PAC is the only major group working to pass the amendment that reported paying Alliance Forge this year, according to PAC finance reports filed with the Kansas Ethics Commission. Do Right’s spending report, which covers Jan. 1, 2022, through July 18, 2022, doesn’t say on what day it paid Alliance Forge.

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that Alliance Forge, a Nevada-based firm, had leased the phone numbers. Alliance Forge didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from The Star.

The Post later updated the story to identify Huelskamp’s PAC as responsible for the text messages, citing anonymous sources.

Steady turnout in Olathe

Updated 4:09 p.m. More than 300 people have voted so far at Christ Community Church, 20600 W. 119th St., in Olathe, according to election supervisor Eric Skoglund.

He said turnout has been steady throughout the day.

A first time voter and a teen candidate in Olathe

Updated 3:47 p.m. Lydia Abai, 18, said she was excited to research candidates and vote for the first time at Christ Community Church.

She hopes more people realize the importance of local elections, rather than just national races, to create change around the area. Abai also came out to vote against the abortion amendment, which she said confuses many people who may read it and not understand which way to vote.

She also came out to support her sister Shewit Abai, 19, who put herself on the ballot for Democratic committeewoman in Olathe.

Shewit Abai said she signed up last minute and didn’t do much campaigning but hoped to have more of a voice in local government as a young person if she’s elected.

Johnson County voters told polling locations changed

Updated 1:53 p.m. Several Johnson County voters on Tuesday said they arrived to vote only to be told that their polling place had changed.

Linda Donnelly, 75, has lived and voted in Roeland Park for 18 years. She said she arrived at the Roeland Park Community Center polling site Tuesday and was told that her polling place changed. She said she was told she could either drive to another location or vote on a paper ballot.

Others told similar stories, including a man in Lenexa who said his polling site had been changed from one about a block from his home to a VFW site seven or eight blocks away.

On Tuesday afternoon, a spokeswoman said the Johnson County Election Office mailed cards to all voters in the county in late June with information about their specific polling sites.

The cards also included early voting and vote by mail information, Theresa Freed, a spokeswoman for county manager’s office, wrote in an email.

Voters could verify their polling location on the Johnson County Voter Lookup site or the Kansas VoterView site.

Donnelly said the voting process can be confusing and the county should do more to improve communication.

For instance, she said she had to read the abortion amendment on her ballot three times before she knew how to vote.

“The abortion amendment is confusing to read,” she said, “and very difficult for me to understand.”

She almost checked no before reading again and realizing she wanted to vote yes.

Larrie Nichols, a supervising judge for a polling site at VFW Post 7397, 9550 Pflumm Road, in Lenexa, said at least four people have voted by provisional ballot at the location because they didn’t know their polling site had changed until they arrived.

“Quite a few” other voters chose to drive to their new polling location after learning of the change, he said.

Nichols said he thinks the confusion is likely because of the “short timeframe” officials had to inform voters of the changes ahead of the election.

Consistent turnout in Leawood

Updated 1:43 p.m. At Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, 13720 Roe Ave., a line outside the door before the polling site opened at 7 a.m. took an hour and a half to process, a local supervisor said.

Supervising judge Regina Foard said there has been a consistent turnout all day since then. About 10 people were waiting in line around 1:30 p.m.

Foard said she wouldn’t know every voter’s reason for turning up, but she said some have asked questions about the constitutional amendment on abortion.

Some voters have also asked to read the amendment, and Foard said the site has printed copies of it available.

Higher than usual turnout at Lenexa site

Updated 11:53 a.m. Some polling sites in Johnson County, including Lenexa United Methodist Church, 9138 Caenen Lake Road, said voter turnout was higher than usual Tuesday.

A supervising judge at Lenexa United said it was the most voters he’s seen in five elections. He said that’s likely because the church now serves three precincts rather than one.

Similarly, an election supervisor at Atonement Lutheran Church in Overland Park said a higher turnout at that location was likely because of the consolidation of polling places in the area.

Sender of misleading abortion text suspended

Updated 10:37 a.m. The anonymous sender of misleading text messages urging Kansans to vote “yes” to “give women a choice” was suspended from its messaging platform Monday.

Twilio, the developers of a communications app often used by political campaigns, deemed the messages violated their terms of use which prohibit the “spread of disinformation.”

The move came hours after Kansans, including prominent Democrat former Gov. Kathleen Sebeilus, received the messages Monday on a ballot measure that would remove the right to an abortion from the state constitution.

A yes vote would add language removing the right to abortion, which would allow lawmakers to pass laws severely restricting or banning abortion. A no vote would keep the status quo and uphold a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found a right to end a pregnancy within the Kansas Constitution.

Campaign signs at church polling sites

Updated 10:15 a.m. Many churches in Kansas double as polling places. In Johnson County, 92 out of 146 polling places are churches, according to the Shawnee Mission Post.

On Election Day, those churches that act as polling places will have to remove any amendment vote campaign signs or banners that are within 250 feet of the entrances.

According to state law, it is illegal to “electioneer” or campaign within the building or within 250 feet of the entrance of a polling place or advanced voting site in Kansas. Examples of electioneering include any labels, signs, stickers or materials that attempt to persuade voters to vote a certain way on Election Day.

Because of this, churches that are currently engaging in “vote yes” or “vote no” campaigns on the abortion amendment will need to remove any signage or materials within 250 feet of the door if they are a polling site.

About a dozen signs urging votes for the abortion amendment, Republican Johnson County chair candidate Charlotte O’Hara and Republican secretary of state candidate Mike Brown, as well as at least one sign to “vote no” on the amendment, appeared overnight outside two polling locations, workers said Tuesday morning.

The signs were outside the entrance to Atonement Lutheran Church and Emmanuel Baptist Church, two neighboring voting sites in Overland Park.

Jason Nolan, 28, and Luke Bouldin, 20, work at Emmanuel and said their supervisor told them to remove the signs per election rules.

More voters at Overland Park polling site

Updated 9:42 a.m. At Atonement Lutheran Church, 9948 Metcalf Ave. in Overland Park, election supervisor Mike Biswell said there have been more voters so far than in the last few elections he’s worked.

He said that increase is likely because of the consolidation of polling places around the area.

Early voting in Johnson and Wyandotte counties

Updated 9:35 a.m. Early voter turnout in Johnson and Wyandotte counties was significantly higher than it was in 2018 for the last midterm primary election, indicating elevated interest in this year’s primary.

Kansans are voting on an amendment that would remove the right to abortion from the state constitution, opening up the door for lawmakers to further restrict or possibly ban the procedure.

As of Monday afternoon, 98,751 votes were cast early in Johnson County, according to election commissioner Fred Sherman. That’s nearly four times the number of early votes counted in the 2018 primary, when only 24,808 early votes were cast.

Voting on the Kansas abortion amendment

Updated 9:12 a.m. Molly O’Brien, 29, said she’s been putting the word out on social media, so her friends know the importance of voting in the election and her stance on the abortion amendment.

As a resident physician, she said she wants the procedure to be protected so that doctors and patients have every option available to them. Access to health care, she said, is a state right that shouldn’t be influenced by the views of the church.

In cases like miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, an abortion can save a pregnant person’s life. Further restrictions on abortion could delay those life-saving measures, she said.

“A person’s life could be at risk if we don’t know if doctors can proceed with a necessary procedure,” O’Brien said.

‘Their own choice’

Updated 8:52 a.m. Renee Green, 34, came to the polls early at the Roeland Park Community Center to beat crowds and take her 1-year-old son to his first election.

Green, who has lived in Roeland Park for seven years, said she supported incumbent Gov. Laura Kelly and voted no on the abortion amendment.

“Everyone deserves their own choice,” she said, “and who am I to dictate that.”

Voters arrive at polls in Roeland Park

Updated 7:36 a.m. At the Roeland Park Community Center polling site, a line of voters was growing out the door soon after the polls opened at 7 a.m.

Get ready to vote with our Kansas voter guide

As you get ready to head to the polls, make sure you know what is on your primary ballot with our Kansas voter guide. It includes details on what candidates are running and where they stand on issues. This free tool is informed by questions submitted by Star readers like you.

Star reporters Andrea Klick, Aaron Torres, Katie Bernard, Sarah Ritter, Daniel Desrochers and Kynala Phillips contributed to this report.