Dismissing Trump allegations, Gov. Kelly promises more ballot drops for November vote
Kansas will have at least two new ballot drop boxes per county for the November election and Gov. Laura Kelly is advising county officials to buy even more using federal COVID-19 pandemic recovery funds.
The additional boxes will allow voters to obtain ballots through the mail and drop them off in person, assuring their vote will be counted without having to worry about postal delays or going to the election office to turn in their completed ballot.
Kansas shattered records for mail voting in the August primaries, as tens of thousands of citizens opted to avoid the possibility of exposure to the coronavirus at live voting sites.
“Adding more drop boxes will not only lessen the public health risks that would come from gathering in long lines at polling places, but by sending fewer ballots through the mail will also lessen the burden on the United States Post Office,” Kelly said.
Mail ballots have been a major issue in the run-up to the Nov. 3 election, with President Donald Trump and his supporters claiming that they are more susceptible to fraud than in-person ballots.
Congressional Democrats have accused the president and his postmaster general, Louis DeJoy, of deliberately trying to cripple the Post Office’s ability to get all the ballots delivered in time to be counted in an effort to supress Democratic votes and favor Republicans, who polls show are more likely to vote in person.
Kelly, a Democrat, dismissed the claims that mailed ballots and drop boxes are more fraud-prone than in-person voting and said in person or by mail, the risk of fraud is minimal.
She said ballot drop boxes been used for decades and “I don’t know of any known fraud uncovered.”
Without mentioning former Secretary of State Kris Kobach by name, Kelly sideswiped her 2018 rival for the governor’s office, who built his political career around undocumented immigration and assertions of widespread voting fraud.
“Much like we saw with a lot of the brouhaha years ago in Kansas about election fraud, you know, it’s a talking point, but it really doesn’t have much basis in truth,” Kelly said.
Kelly said the commitment of ballot boxes per county emerged from a meeting she had last week with Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
“Given the record number of absentee ballots applied for and returned during the primaries, Secretary Schwab is providing each county with two additional ballot drop boxes ahead of the November election,” Kelly said.
She also said she sent county commissioners, administrators and other local officials a letter “letting them know they can use dollars received from the coronavirus relief fund, the CARES Act, to increase the number of drop boxes in their communities.”
“My administration will support Kansans in any way we can to exercise their right to vote to make their voices heard, safely,” Kelly said.
Sedgwick County Commissioner David Dennis said one ballot drop box has either been installed or soon will be outside the County Courthouse and he’d welcome more.
He said the most recent turnout projection he’s heard is 70%, “which is huge,” and that 45% of the votes are expected to be advance ballots.
He said he hasn’t received the governor’s letter urging the use of federal CARES funds for ballot drops, but it could come up as early as Tuesday at the commission’s weekly staff meeting.
This story was originally published August 31, 2020 at 5:59 PM.
