‘The desire is there, but the access is not,’ Voters push back on Johnson County 2026 advance voting plan

OLATHE, Kan. — KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas, including Olathe and Lenexa. Share your story idea with Olivia.

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Advance voting in Johnson County opens Saturday, but some of the locations voters have used in past elections are no longer available.

Before the August primary, Johnson County eliminated eight early voting sites and added two new ones in Spring Hill and De Soto.

Maps courtesy of the Johnson County Election Office

I first covered this before the primary, but the story came back to me at Let's Talk Lenexa, when someone in the community brought up their concerns about losing so many early voting locations from 2024 to now. I went back to past turnout numbers to see what they tell us.

In the August primary, the two new locations in Spring Hill and De Soto saw a combined 984 votes — about 1.4 percent of all early in-person voters.

There was no comparable data available for previous primaries, but in the high-turnout 2024 general election, two of the locations that closed — JCCC and the Olathe Downtown Library — together accounted for more than 15,000 votes. In the past three election cycles, those two sites typically handled about five to seven percent of advance voters.

After pushback on the 2026 early voting plan, the election office posted a release about their decision. Part of their justification said this plan "...creates a more balanced, consistent, and accessible countywide network of early voting locations while maintaining a predictable voting experience…"

A Johnson County voter worries that the changes could turn people away from the polls.

KSHB

"My concern is that those creatures of habit will feel discouraged, maybe give up, and not feel like their vote is important enough," Maggie Stanton said.

The county says the new locations are situated near major highways and are convenient for voters who utilize public transportation.

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