Douglas County voters break record for early in-person turnout – The Lawrence Times

Post updated at 5:36 p.m. Saturday, November 2nd:

Douglas County voters exceeded the previous record number of early in-person ballots cast – by more than 4,000 votes.

The previous record was set in the 2016 general election, when in-person early voters cast 15,637 early votes, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said Thursday. He had expected that record to be broken on Friday.

In fact it was. According to statistics from the Kansas Secretary of State's Office as of Saturday morning, accessible through IKE Lab, early voters in Douglas County had cast 17,832 ballots in person before early voting hours began Saturday morning. That's 2,195 more than the previous record, with two more days of early voting added before Election Day.

In an update after voting ended Saturday, the elections office said 19,989 early in-person ballots were cast — 4,352 more than the previous record.

Additionally, the county had received 9,725 mail-in ballots as of Saturday morning. Another 14,294 have been mailed, meaning 4,659 are waiting to return to the election office.

Overall, early ballots cast — including ballots cast in person and those returned to the election office by Saturday morning — account for more than a third of registered voters in Douglas County.

Of the nearly 18,000 in-person ballots already cast as of Saturday morning, about 52.4% came from registered Democrats; 28.4% were Republican; and 18.5% came from independent voters. Further statistics can be found at IKE Lab, ike-lab.com.

Early voting on Saturday ended at 3 p.m The last opportunity to vote early in person will be held Monday, Nov. 4, from 8 a.m. to noon at the election office, 711 W. 23rd St., Suite 1 in Lawrence. According to state law, polling stations must close at noon on Monday.

Voters who received ballots in advance should not send their ballots by mail at this point to ensure that they arrive at the election office on time.

A list of ballot boxes can be found at this link.

You can also drop off your ballot at any polling station on Election Day. Ballot boxes will be locked at 7:00 p.m. on election day.

Polls will be open on Election Day, Tuesday, November 5, from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. As long as you are ready to vote by 7 p.m., you can cast your vote.

Voters must show up at their assigned polling stations on election day to vote. Find out where to go by entering your information or searching for an address at myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview. To vote in person you need a driver's license or a valid ID card.

Learn more about how to vote in Douglas County in this article. For more election coverage, see the links below.

MORE …

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of the Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for the Times here. Check out their employee biographies here.

Latest Lawrence news:

MORE …