MAIL BALLOT ELECTION
What is a Mail Ballot Election?
A mail ballot election is an election conducted entirely by mail. Ballots are mailed to registered voters; ballots are marked by the voters and returned by mail to the Election Office. Ballots may also be returned in person at the Election Office during regular business hours. All ballots must be returned by 12:00 Noon on Election Day.
A mail ballot election may only be conducted for a “question-submitted” election, such as a school district seeking voter approval of a bond issue for the district.
Mail Ballot Election Day
Election Day for a mail ballot election is the deadline for ballots to be returned to the Election Office. The mail ballot deadline is 12:00 Noon on Election Day. Ballots returned after the noon deadline cannot be counted. Election Day is always on a Tuesday.
How Do I Get a Ballot?
Voters residing within the voting district, who are registered at least 30 days prior to Election Day, automatically receive a mailed ballot. You must be registered to vote to receive a mailed ballot automatically. Ballots are mailed beginning 20 days before Election Day.
Voters registering within 30 days before Election Day, but before the Voter Registration deadline (14 days before Election Day), must apply for a mailed ballot using a Mail Ballot Application form provided by the Election Office. The Mail Ballot Application must be received in the Election Office not later than the Friday prior to Election Day for a ballot to be mailed to any voter.
For a mail ballot election, there will not be any polling places open on Election Day or any other time. To vote in a mail ballot election you must receive a ballot bymail. Voted ballots can only be returned by mail to or delivered in person at the Election Office, 850 State Avenue, Kansas City, KS 66101.
Make certain you are a registered voter!
If you are a registered voter, you are already registered for a mail ballot election. Registered voters have been sent a voter registration certificate which identifies your ward and precinct and school district, as well as the elected officials who represent you. If you have lost or misplaced your Certificate of Registration, you can obtain a replacement by calling the Election Office, 573-8500. You can view the voter information provided on your Certificate of Registration by visiting the Voter View website (https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org). There is also a convenient link to Voter View on the Election Office website Home page.
If you are not registered, you must register to vote in a mail ballot election. Voter registration for a mail ballot election closes 14 days before Election Day. Anyone, who registers to vote up to 30 days before Election Day but before voter registration closes, is eligible to apply for a mail ballot. A ballot will not be sent automatically.
A mail ballot application form is available only at the Election Office or on the Election Office website (www.wycokck.org/election). A voting district resident may submit a voter registration application and a mail ballot application together. The voter registration application must be postmarked or received in the Election Office by the date voter registration closes. A mail ballot application must be received in the Election Office by the Friday immediately prior to Election Day. No ballot will be mailed to any voter after Friday.
First-Time Voter
If you are a first-time voter, you are required to provide proof of identification. If you are voting in Wyandotte County for the first time, you are a first-time voter. If you are a former resident and have moved back to Wyandotte County, you are a first-time voter. The identification you provide (send a copy, not the original) must contain your name and photo or your name and address. The name and address on the identification and the name and address on your voter registration must be an exact match. Acceptable ID includes:
Name and photo
Current Kansas Driver’s License
Current Kansas Non-driver’s Identification Card
Current passport
Name and address
Utility bill, bank statement, paycheck, government check or other
government-issued document showing your current name and address.
The Certificate of Voter Registration is not proof of identification.
First-time voters who fail to provide the required identification must provide proof of identification to the Election Office before the County Canvass in order for your ballot to be counted. The County Canvass is scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on the first Friday after the election. The Canvass is open to the public.
Voter Instructions for a mail ballot election
Every ballot mailed will include instructions on completing the ballot and applying the voter’s signature to the return envelope. Return postage is paid.
Only one voted ballot is permitted to be returned in each return envelope. It is impossible to determine the validity of multiple ballots in the same envelope, and as a result none are counted. In a mail ballot election, a person casting more than one ballot voids all ballots cast by that person.
The back of the return envelope has an AFFIDAVIT OF VOTER. The voter, and only the voter to whom the mail ballot was sent, must sign this affidavit. No one else can sign for the voter. Power of Attorney is not valid for voting. Write the voter’s address on the line provided underneath the signature line. The voter’s signature and current address are required by Kansas Statute. If the affidavit is not signed by the voter, Kansas law prohibits anyone from opening the envelope or counting the votes on the ballot. The Affidavit of Voter must be signed for the ballot to be opened and counted!
The back of the return envelope also has an AFFIDAVIT OF ASSISTANCE.
A voter with an illness, disability, or who is not proficient in reading the English language may need the assistance of another person to apply for, mark, and/or return their ballot. Any such person providing assistance to a voter must sign the Affidavit of Assistance. Note that the person providing assistance is not allowed to sign the Affidavit of Voter. Power of Attorney does not apply to voting.
What is the deadline for returning ballots to the Election Office?
All ballots cast in a mail ballot election must be returned to the Wyandotte County Election Office on or before 12:00 Noon on Election Day. If you are mailing your voted ballot to the Election Office, you must mail it early enough so it will arrive in the Election Office not later than 12:00 Noon on Election Day. If you are not confident that the US Postal Service will get your ballot to the Election Office by the noon deadline, you may deliver your ballot in person. All ballots personally returned to the Election Office on Election Day must be received by 12:00 Noon. Ballots which are received in the Election Office after the deadline cannot be counted.
Privacy protection and the secret ballot
The privacy and secrecy of your vote is maintained by a careful and deliberate procedure when returned mail ballot envelopes are opened. All envelopes are opened by a special election board. When the envelopes are opened, the ballot is removed and placed face down in one pile to prevent anyone from seeing how the ballot is voted. The empty envelope is placed in a separate pile.
Once the ballot is separated from the envelope, putting a ballot back with an envelope is prohibited. Empty envelopes are stacked face up, which places the voter name, signature, and address out of view of the special board members as well as any observers who might be present. Observers are prohibited from handling any ballot or envelope or from coming within three feet of any ballot or envelope, special board member or work table.
Ballots are then inserted into an optical scan ballot reader which counts the vote or votes cast on each ballot. Once the ballot is fed into the optical scan reader it becomes impossible to associate any ballot with a return envelope. When counted ballots are removed from the ballot box, they are placed into a special carton which is sealed. Empty return envelopes are packed in separate cartons.
Election Results
Unofficial results are posted at the Election Results link on the Election Office website as soon as results are available on Election Day. Final official results will be posted to the website after the Board of Canvassers meets to consider Provisional Ballots and certify the election.
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