Election leaders reflect on low Kansas voter turnout from preference primary; looking ahead to November election

TOPEKA ( KSNT ) – While voter participation wasn’t as high as election leaders in Shawnee County hoped for, they say it was still a good turnout and an opportunity to test the waters ahead of the November election.

The Shawnee County Election Office tells 27 News around 8.4% of registered voters in Shawnee County participated in yesterday’s Presidential Preference Primary (PPP). That was higher than the state as a whole.

Of the total number of voters in Kansas:

• 6.9% of registered Kansas voters cast a vote
• 8.3% of registered Democrats cast a vote
• 10.7% of registered Republicans cast a vote

New Legislation is responsible for yesterday’s PPP, which is the first one in over 30 years. The Election Office says this may have contributed to the lower turnout.

“It’s an unusual time and I think it probably caught some people off guard a little bit, just being a little bit  unusual to have an election like that in March,” Election Commissioner Andrew Howell said. “There were probably some people that weren’t really aware of how it works and what the finer points of the process and the new law was.”

Howell also says the purpose of the PPP is for each party to get an idea of which candidates the county would support in the November election. This is only Kansas’ third PPP ever.

Here are some important election dates upcoming for the 2024 elections:

2024 Primary Election:

• Tuesday, July 16 – Voter registration deadline for 2024 primary election
• Wednesday, July 17 – First day of advance voting
• Tuesday, July 30 – Last day to apply for advance mail-in ballot
• Monday, Aug. 5 – In-person advance voting ends at noon.
• Tuesday, Aug. 6 – Primary election

2024 General Election:

• Tuesday, Oct. 15 – Voter registration deadline for 2024 general election
• Wednesday, Oct. 16 – First day of advance voting
• Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Last day to apply for mail-in ballot
• Monday, Nov. 4 – In-person advance voting ends at noon
• Tuesday, Nov. 5 – General Election

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