Intrust Bank Arena will host ‘mega voting’ center for early voting in upcoming election
Sedgwick County’s biggest entertainment venue will be pressed into the service of democracy this fall, hosting the county’s first-ever “mega voting site,” election officials said Tuesday.
Intrust Bank Arena will have 50 early voting stations, offering a mix of machine and paper balloting from Oct. 19 to Oct. 31.
Any voter in the county will be able to cast a ballot at the arena before the Nov. 3 election, said Anna Meyerhoff, the county’s central services manager, who has been on election duty while Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman continues her treatment for cancer.
Mega-voting centers are cropping up in arenas and convention centers across the country in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and social justice issues.
Most of those buildings, ordinarily filled with thousands of cheering sports and music fans, have been virtually idle since the pandemic reached American shores.
It is believed that the spacious venues will offer some reassurance to voters who are concerned about coronavirus infection. The plan is for them to be able to cast their ballots safely by avoiding lines and maintaining social distancing as recommended by health professionals.
Late last month, the National Basketball Association agreed to open all 28 of its arenas as voting sites as part of a settlement with players who had refused to take the court for playoff games after the police shooting of African-American Jacob Blake by Kenosha, Wisc., police.
The players, including superstars LeBron James and Chris Paul, got an assist from former President Barack Obama who helped broker a deal to end the walkout and allow the playoffs to resume.
The voting center at Intrust will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 19, 20, 22, 23, 26, 27, 29 and 30; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m on Oct. 21 and 28; and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m on Oct. 31.
Meyerhoff said Sedgwick County had considered having as many as six megasites instead of its usual array of 16 early voting centers.
“It was realized very early on, for a variety of reasons, we could not secure these sites,” Meyerhoff said.
Among the challenges was finding locations that were large enough but still geographically scattered around the county. Security was another issue, since the machines will have to remain on site for two weeks, she said.
The end result was a plan for one megasite and continuing to have the 16 satellite locations that were used in the primary, she said.
Voters who feel comfortable with smaller locations will be able to vote at their neighborhood early voting sites, which will be the same locations used for the August primary.
They include: Bel Aire City Building, Goddard District Conference Center, Grace Presbyterian Church, Haysville Community Library, Machinists Building, Park City City Hall, Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, Reformation Lutheran Church, Sedgwick County Extension Office, SEIU Building, Sharon Baptist Church, St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, Valley Center Community Center, Westlink Church of Christ, Woodland Lakes Community Church and Woodlawn Methodist Church.
This story was originally published September 15, 2020 at 5:26 PM.
