In Sedgwick County, early-voter turnout is nearly double what it was in 2014

Early voter turnout in Sedgwick County is nearly double what it was in the 2014 primary election.

As of Wednesday, 1,478 Sedgwick County residents have voted early at the county courthouse.

By this date in the 2014 primary election, 739 people had voted early.

Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman predicts a higher voter turnout for this year’s primary election compared to 2014, the year that former governor Sam Brownback won a second term in office.

The 2014 primary election saw a 19.2 percent turnout of eligible voters in Sedgwick County; there was a 25.7 percent turnout in 2010.

“I would expect to see it closer to 2010 (turnout),” Lehman wrote in an e-mailed statement. Her prediction for this year is based on early-voter turnout.

The 2010 primary election drew 905 early voters in Sedgwick County by Aug. 1, though nearly double the early mail-in votes — 6,527 ballots in 2010 compared to 3,360 this year.

The number of vote-by-mail ballots so far this year is slightly higher than the figure from 2014 — 3,360 votes this year vs. 3,097 in 2014.

Primary elections are Aug. 7.

Early voting in the primaries started July 23 and is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Friday, then 8 a.m. to noon Monday at the Sedgwick County Election Office at the county courthouse, 510 N. Main, Suite 101.

Fifteen additional locations will open for early voting across Sedgwick County beginning Thursday. The additional locations will be open for three days.

Hours for the other voting locations are noon to 7 p.m. Thursday and Friday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

The additional early voting locations in Sedgwick County are:

Wichita

Grace Presbyterian Church, 5002 E. Douglas

Greenwich Road Church of Christ, 1746 S. Greenwich

Independent Living Center, 3033 W. Second St.

Faith Christian Church, 2110 W. 45th St. South

Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2727 E. 25th St. North

Reformation Lutheran, 7601 E. 13th St.

Sedgwick County Extension Office, 7001 W. 21st St.

Sharon Baptist Church, 2221 S. Oliver

St. Andrew’s Lutheran, 2555 Hyacinth Lane

Westlink Church of Christ, 10025 W. Central

Derby

Woodlawn Methodist Church, 431 S. Woodlawn

Bel Aire

Bel Aire City Hall, 7651 E. Central Park

Goddard

Goddard Pathway Church, 18800 W. Kellogg

Haysville

Haysville Community Library, 210 Hays Ave.

Valley Center

Valley Center Christian Church, 1801 E. Fifth St.

This story was originally published August 1, 2018 at 6:14 PM.