JoCo sheriff accuses county lawyer of breaking KS election law after she questioned his ideas

Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden on Tuesday without providing evidence accused the county’s top lawyer of breaking Kansas law, escalating a dispute between the sheriff and county officials over his role in elections.

Hayden said Johnson County Chief Counsel Peg Trent and her office had violated a state law that limits how individuals can return advance voting ballots cast by others. The allegation, made in a statement, appeared to be the first time the sheriff has publicly accused another county official of violating the law since he launched an election fraud investigation last year.

But Hayden offered no further details and his office refused to provide any additional information about the accusation.

It wasn’t immediately clear how Trent or her office would be in a position to violate the law, which sets rules for how someone can return a ballot filled out by another person. Elections are administered by Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman, not the chief counsel. Violations of the statute are in some instances a felony.

Trent didn’t comment in response to the allegation.

County spokeswoman Theresa Freed said the Sheriff’s Office advised the county’s legal department of an ongoing criminal investigation of “election integrity issues” on July 15. Freed said the Sheriff’s Office has indicated that disclosing communications between the sheriff, the election commissioner, county commissioners or the district attorney would interfere in the investigation.

“As such, the county is unable to make additional comments,” Freed said in an email. “We conduct elections according to state law. We stand by the integrity of Johnson County elections.”

Hayden and several sheriff’s deputies met with Sherman and other county officials on July 5 to discuss election security. Trent later wrote a summary of the gathering that she sent to Hayden. She wrote that Hayden had proposed his staff transport ballots from drop boxes and suggested that ballots deposited in drop boxes must be counted at the drop box site.

A member of Hayden’s staff also suggested deputies be in the room at the election office when ballots are counted, according to Trent’s letter.

Trent wrote that she was concerned that the requests “give the appearance that the Sheriff’s office is attempting to interfere with an election and to direct a duly authorized election official as to how an election will be conducted.”

Hayden on Tuesday challenged Trent’s description of the meeting.

“I whole-heartedly disagree with Ms. Trent’s recollection of events, as does every deputy who was present for that meeting,” Hayden said in his statement.

“Furthermore, Ms. Trent and her office are knowingly violating their own laws: K.S.A. 25-2437. We will continue to deal with Ms. Trent until we reach a successful conclusion and ensure all election laws are followed.”

On Monday, a spokeswoman for the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office said the office would release a letter from an attorney for Hayden responding to Trent. But on Tuesday the spokeswoman, Shelby Colburn, said that would no longer happen because it would violate attorney-client confidentiality.

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Sherman have repeatedly vouched for the integrity of Johnson County’s elections. Until Tuesday, Hayden had made no direct allegation.

In a news release, the Sheriff’s Office said it had received more than 200 tips alleging fraud in local elections since the fall of 2021. They include individuals who say they were victims of fraud as well as those who say they witnessed fraud, the release says.

The Sheriff’s Office said it has an obligation to investigate any criminal claim and send findings to the district attorney.

“Releasing copies of these allegations prematurely, or specific details of any investigation while it’s active, would immediately compromise the integrity of the investigation and lose the trust of the citizens who bring allegations of criminal misconduct to our office,” the release says.

However, Hayden has spoken frequently about the investigation, including as recently as last week, when he addressed the Constitutional Sheriffs & Peace Officers Association in Las Vegas.