Kansas

In Kansas and Topeka, early in-person voting outpaces last 2 presidential elections

Published

1 year ago

October 31, 2024

Press Room

In Kansas and Topeka, early in-person voting outpaces last 2 presidential elections

Advance voting locations statewide and in Topeka are experiencing a surge of people voting early in-person.

Shawnee County election commissioner Andrew Howell said that, as of around 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, 17,800 voters had voted early in-person so far this election.

“We’re not quite double, but it’s — depending on which year you compare it to — it is double to some years,” Howell told The Capital-Journal.

“In a presidential (election), 10,000 to 12,000 for the entire two-week period is a fairly average number,” he said. “So I suspect that we’re going to be double what we normally see here. Over 3,000 people the first day. It’s a rare day in the past that we do 1,500 a day.”

The Shawnee County Election Office was busy Wednesday morning with early voters. One of those early voters was Gov. Laura Kelly. When voting early in other recent elections, Kelly has often been one of only a small handful of voters filling out their ballots. This time, several of the booths were filled.

“I think there’s a lot of energy and excitement around the races this year, particularly obviously at the presidential level, but I think even locally on the state level,” Kelly said of the turnout.

“I come out to vote early so that I make sure I get it done,” she told reporters. “It is fun to come to the polls on Election Day. I used to enjoy that a lot, but there’s always a chance that something — you know, ice storms or whatever — could happen. So I like to get it done.”

Early in-person voting is up in Kansas

Election offices across the state are experiencing a similar boom in in-person advance voting.

The Kansas Secretary of State’s Office reported that, through Tuesday, there had been 252,482 ballots statewide had been cast in person.

That’s 54% above 2020, when there had been 163,527 in-person advance ballots at this point. It’s 80% above 2016, when there had been 139,912 early in-person voters.

Mail voting lags behind

While in-person is up, mail voting is down locally and statewide.

“Mail is down,” Howell said. “What I don’t know if people that normally vote by mail are now just coming and voting early, I wonder.”

Mail voting has also been the subject of criticism from some Republicans after former President Donald Trump in 2020 discouraged Republicans from voting by mail. He called voting by mail “corrupt” and alleged it led to cheating. Some Kansas Republican lawmakers have sought to end the three-day grace period.

Secretary of State’s Office statistics also show that Democrats are leading Republicans in voting by mail.

Meanwhile, Secretary of State Scott Schwab has been critical of the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of election mail, blaming USPS failures for disenfranchising voters in the August primary.

Kansas election offices had mailed out 161,410 advance ballots through Tuesday, of which 87,600 had already been returned, according to the Secretary of State’s Office.

Compared to this point in the last two presidential elections: In 2020 — in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic — there had been 501,446 mail ballots sent with 279,950 returned, and in 2016, there had been 191,307 sent with 102,130 returned.

At least on the state level, the total number of early ballots cast in-person plus mail ballots that have been delivered so far in 2024 outpaces 2016 by about 41%. But it doesn’t outpace 2020, when mail voting skyrocketed during the pandemic.

So far this year, 340,082 advance ballots have been cast. At this point in 2020, there had been a total of 443,477 ballots, including both returned mail ballots and in-person voting. In 2016, there had been 242,042 in total.

‘Don’t wait’ until last minute to vote early

Voters in Kansas can vote early by mail and in-person, or they can wait until Election Day. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday.

Early in-person voting will continue until Monday. This week, voters can go to the Shawnee County Election Office at 3420 S.W. Van Buren Street between 8 a.m. and 7 p.m. on weekdays. Next week, voters can go between 8 a.m. and noon on Monday.

“Please, if you’re going to vote early, don’t wait until noon on Monday, because there will be a line,” Howell said. “We’ve managed to keep it under five minutes on average. Most people it’s two minutes or less, but occasionally it’ll get a five-minute line. Monday at 11 o’clock, there will be a line, and it will be significant.”

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd.

Source link

Click to comment

Kansas

Kansas Lottery Mega Millions, Pick 3 winning numbers for Dec. 9, 2025

Published

1 hour ago

December 10, 2025

Press Room

The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 9, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Mega Millions numbers from Dec. 9 drawing

19-32-41-49-66, Mega Ball: 06

Check Mega Millions payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 9 drawing

Midday: 9-6-0

Evening: 6-9-6

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from Dec. 9 drawing

Red Balls: 05-17, White Balls: 15-19

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 9 drawing

19-24-33-39-40, Lucky Ball: 06

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.

By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:

Kansas Lottery Headquarters

128 N Kansas Avenue

Topeka, KS 66603-3638

(785) 296-5700

To submit in person, sign the back of your ticket, fill out a claim form, and deliver the form along with your signed lottery ticket to Kansas Lottery headquarters. 128 N Kansas Avenue, Topeka, KS 66603-3638, (785) 296-5700. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. This office can cash prizes of any amount.

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.

When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link

Kansas

Woman, 68, killed Monday in head-on crash in southeast Kansas

Published

13 hours ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

Woman, 68, killed Monday in head-on crash in southeast Kansas

CHEROKEE, Kan. (WIBW) – A woman died and a man was seriously injured following a head-on crash Monday afternoon in Crawford County in southeast Kansas, officials said.

The collision was reported at 2:45 p.m. Monday on US-400 highway about four miles west of Cherokee.

According to the Kansas Highway Patrol, a 2015 Nissan Altima was eastbound on US-400 when it crossed the centerline and collided head-on with a 2001 Dodge Dakota pickup truck that was westbound on the highway.

A woman died and a man was seriously injured following a head-on crash Monday afternoon in Crawford County in southeast Kansas, officials said.(WBRC)

The Nissan then spun counterclockwise and came to rest in the roadway, while the Dodge truck left the roadway to the right, rolled once and came to rest on its wheels facing south in the north ditch.

The driver of the Dodge pickup truck, Carol S. Sharp, 68, of Altoona, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Joplin, Missouri, where she was pronounced dead. The patrol said Sharp was wearing her seat belt.

The driver of the Nissan, identified as Eric M. Meyers, 38, of Des Moines, Iowa, was transported to Mercy Hospital in Pittsburg with serious injuries. The patrol said Meyers was wearing his seat belt.

Both drivers were alone in their vehicles, the patrol said.

Copyright 2025 WIBW. All rights reserved.

Source link

Kansas

Kansas Lottery Powerball, Pick 3 winning numbers for Dec. 8, 2025

Published

1 day ago

December 9, 2025

Press Room

The Kansas Lottery offers several draw games for those aiming to win big. Here’s a look at Dec. 8, 2025, results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

08-32-52-56-64, Powerball: 23, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

Midday: 9-6-0

Evening: 2-8-1

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning 2 By 2 numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

Red Balls: 05-24, White Balls: 11-19

Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lucky For Life numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

11-14-28-30-41, Lucky Ball: 11

Check Lucky For Life payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Lotto America numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

07-10-32-33-35, Star Ball: 03, ASB: 02

Check Lotto America payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Super Kansas Cash numbers from Dec. 8 drawing

02-09-14-18-21, Cash Ball: 25

Check Super Kansas Cash payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results

Are you a winner? Here’s how to claim your lottery prize

All Kansas Lottery retailers will redeem prizes up to $599. For prizes over $599, winners can submit winning tickets through the mail or in person at select Kansas Lottery offices.

By mail, send a winner claim form and your signed lottery ticket to:

Kansas Lottery Headquarters

128 N Kansas Avenue

Topeka, KS 66603-3638

(785) 296-5700

Check previous winning numbers and payouts at Kansas Lottery.

When are the Kansas Lottery drawings held?

Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT Tuesday and Friday.
Pick 3 Midday/Evening: 1:10 p.m. and 9:10 p.m. CT daily.
2 By 2: 9:30 p.m. CT daily.
Lucky for Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
Lotto America: 9:15 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
Super Kansas Cash: 9:10 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.

This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a Kansas editor. You can send feedback using this form.

Source link