October surprise: Long lines on first day of early voting at Intrust Arena in Wichita
Election 2020 got off to a roaring start Monday with long lines at both the downtown election office and Intrust Bank Arena, where Sedgwick County set up its first-ever mega-voting site for those wanting to cast their ballots early.
Usually, the first day of in-person advance voting sees a trickle of people, mostly county employees who are already in proximity to the election office anyway.
Not this October.
The election office in the county Historic Courthouse was mobbed with voters when it opened at 8 a.m.
In fact, Greg Fisher, the first voter in line when the arena voting site opened at 10 a.m. had already been to the election office and decided that was too long to wait.
“When I went by, it was about 8:30,” he said. “They were lined up out the door and around the building, so I figured I could either wait there an hour or come here to the arena . . . I think they’re much more prepared to handle stuff here at the arena than they are downtown. I think they’ve got a good setup here.”
He said he opted to vote on Day 1 “with all the shenanigans going on this year.”
There were 25 voting machines and four ballot-counting machines up and running at the arena, said Sandra Gritz, chief deputy election commissioner. The line appeared to be moving rapidly through the building.
Daniel Bustamante was near the end of the line when the arena voting station opened. The line surrounded the perimeter of a large grass area on the arena’s south side.
“I’m pretty sure who I’m voting for already so might as well get it over with,” he said. “It’s important . . . so we can make our voices known and get it over with and make sure it’s counted.”
Bustamante said he wasn’t worried about health. “Everybody here is wearing a mask, they’re all doing the right thing,” he said.
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman decided this year to offer a mega center in an effort to alleviate long lines on Election Day in the shadow of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Intrust arena was selected as the site because it’s spacious enough to handle large numbers of voters and machines, with room to spread out and maintain social distancing and minimize the chance of spreading the virus.
Even in the line outside, almost everyone was wearing a mask and standing at least 6 feet from the closest person.
On Monday, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab issued a statement re-iterating a decision he made in July that voters will not be turned away from polling places if they choose not to wear a mask to prevent virus spread, even if counties or municipalities require them in other public spaces.
“Exercising one’s constitutional rights is not, and should not be, contingent on whether or not they choose to wear a mask,” Schwab said. “Voter intimidation or suppression based on the use or non-use of a face mask, or for any other reason, will not be tolerated.”
Alesia Steel said the biggest problem for her was that it was cold standing in line Monday morning, but she was happy to be there.
“I think right now in this climate we’re in, we have to vote,” she said. “It doesn’t matter who you’re voting for. You have to exercise your American right to vote . . . Other countries want that right and we have that, natural born.”
The Intrust Bank Arena voting center will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday-Friday through Oct. 30. The exception is Wednesdays when the arena will close at 5 p.m. The arena will also be open for voting from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m on Oct. 31.
The election office at the Historic Courthouse will be open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday through Nov. 1. It will also be open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Oct. 31, a Saturday; and from 8 a.m. to noon Nov. 2, the Monday before Election Day.
Next week, the election office will open 16 smaller satellite voting sites around the county.
Those include:
▪ Bel Aire City Building, 7651 E. Central Park, Bel Aire
▪ Goddard School District Conference Center, 315 S Main, Goddard
▪ Grace Presbyterian Church, 5002 E. Douglas, Wichita
▪ Haysville Community Library, 210 Hays Ave., Haysville
▪ Machinists Building, 3830 S. Meridian, Wichita
▪ Park City City Hall, 1941 E. 61st St. North, Park City
▪ Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2727 E. 25th St. North, Wichita
▪ Reformation Lutheran Church, 7601 E. 13th St., Wichita
▪ Sedgwick County Extension Office, 7001 W. 21st St., Wichita
▪ SEIU Building, 3340 W. Douglas Ave., Wichita
▪ Sharon Baptist Church, 2221 S. Oliver, Wichita
▪ St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church, 2555 Hyacinth Lane, Wichita
▪ Valley Center Community Center, 314 Clay, Valley Center
▪ Westlink Church of Christ, 10025 W. Central, Wichita
▪ Woodland Lakes Community Church, 770 S. Greenwich Road, Wichita
▪ Woodlawn Methodist Church, 431 S. Woodlawn Blvd., Derby
All those sites will be open from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Oct. 27, 29 and 30; 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 28 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 31.
Those voting will need to bring a government-issued photo ID. Those who don’t bring an ID may be asked to cast a provisional ballot and will need to provide an ID in order for their vote to count.
Voters who received advance ballots by mail may drop them off at any of the early voting sites. They can go to the front of the line to turn in a completed ballot. Advance ballots may also be mailed back to the election commissioner’s office or dropped off at one of the 14 ballot drop off boxes throughout the county.
For more information call the election commissioner’s office at 316-660-7120.
This story was originally published October 19, 2020 at 11:32 AM.
