Opportunities for early voting will be available in Eudora this weekend, as polling numbers continue to be higher than average.
County Clerk Jamie Shew said Wednesday that the election office has had about 5,000 voters since early voting started last week. This number is a couple of thousand higher than the usual first few days, he said.
Early voting will continue to be available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Douglas County Elections Office at 711 W. 23rd St. in Lawrence. Starting Monday, the hours will be 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
To vote in Eudora, there will be polls open from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. the next two Saturdays at City Hall. Since that is an advanced site, any Eudora resident can vote there.
If residents plan to wait until Election Day, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. residents can vote at their assigned location: City Hall, the Rec Center or the Baptist church.
Shew said he would like to remind people to view their sample ballot online before coming in to vote. He said while many focus on the presidential race, this is a 17-inch ballot with a lot of other races on it.
“We’re really encouraging people to do that, and the other thing is, if you are voting by mail, make sure that you – if you’re not going to drop it off anywhere – that you mail it back early,” Shew said.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab recently sent a letter to the postmaster general outlining concerns about the nearly 1,000 Kansas voters whose votes were not counted during the primary because their ballots were not received in time.
In a news release, Schwab said he is empathetic to the challenges USPS faces, but said there are still inherent risks to returning a ballot through the mail.
“That is why we are encouraging voters who vote by mail to use a more secure way of returning your ballot to the county election office, if possible,” Schwab said in a statement.
Voters can return their ballot through the county election office, to any advance voting location in their county, to any polling location on Election Day in their county or via a county-owned dropbox.
The secretary of state’s office advises that voters who must mail their ballots should make a plan to do so at least seven days in advance of the deadline for counties to receive
ballots.
If people want to drop their mall ballot off at Eudora City Hall, there will be a place for that during the Saturday advanced voting opportunities in town, Shew said.
There will also be a polling place at the fairgrounds from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday if residents are unable to make the Saturday times. ‘
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
Douglas County residents vote early at the elections office Thursday.
