Kansas City officials pleased with Tuesday's election process

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Kansas City Election Board officials still have a lot of work ahead of them following Tuesday’s presidential election. They admit there were some problems but are pleased with the overall process.

“We have 14 days to certify an election,” explained Shelley McThomas, Democratic director of the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners. “We still have to count the provisional ballots and any other ballots that came in from polling locations."

There are 223,804 registered voters in Kansas City. An estimated 133,603 voters cast their ballots Tuesday -- approximately a 60 percent turnout, according to the board’s election report summary.

McThomas said the turnout in the 2008 presidential election was slightly higher, with 67 percent of registered voters casting their ballots in Kansas City.

There were long lines in the 2008 and 2012 elections, and McThomas explained that it’s a financial issue.

“We have to combine precincts into one polling place because of financial considerations,” she said.

It costs $1,500 to operate a polling place. McThomas said that because of budget constraints, more than one precinct is set up at a polling location.

“If we could have larger polling facilities like gymnasiums and school cafeterias, that could perhaps help reduce the long lines on election day, “ McThomas explained.

On the whole, McThomas said the election went well.

“There are always going to be problems, but we had technicians in the field and extra people at the office to respond to problems,” she said.