Sedgwick County election commissioner offers tips for voting on Election Day

A line of voters wrapped around the historic Sedgwick County courthouse on Monday, the last day of early voting in the 2022 midterms.

County Election Commissioner Angela Caudillo said anyone standing in line at noon would be allowed to cast a ballot, no matter how long it takes.

Some 72,000 people had already voted in Sedgwick County as of 11:30 a.m., she said.

Polls open at 6 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. Caudillo said the busiest times to vote on Election Day are the first hour and a half that polls are open, over the noon hour and after work.

Voters can return advance ballots in person Tuesday at any of the county’s 81 polling stations or at the 14 ballot drop boxes, which will be locked promptly at 7 p.m.

Advance ballots returned by mail must be postmarked by Tuesday, Nov. 8, and received by the Monday after Election Day. Ballots usually must be received by Friday, but the Veterans Day holiday prompted this year’s extension.

A heat map on the election office’s website predicts that voters on Tuesday could face wait times at more than half of the county’s 81 polling stations, including most Wichita precincts.

Long lines of up to three hours for the Aug. 2 primary were attributed to a poll worker shortage. Caudillo said Monday that as of a few days ago, she had hired 760 poll workers — 200 more than in August. But she said a number of would-be workers have canceled at the eleventh hour.

“Probably in the last two days, I’ve lost at least 25 people,” Caudillo said. “They’ve called, changed their mind, not going to be able to make it.

“The busiest locations, we did add more and anywhere there’s holes, we try and fill in.”

Caudillo said this year’s ballot takes an average of between five and seven minutes to vote, which is relatively long compared to other recent ballots. Per state law, voters are limited to 10 minutes when there are other people waiting in line.

To cut down on voting times, the county election office plans to pass out printed sheets with the two proposed constitutional amendments for voters to read while standing in line. Voters can also access a sample ballot on the secretary of state’s website.

This story was originally published November 7, 2022 at 12:49 PM.