The Lyon County Election Office is expecting more candidates to file for the upcoming election cycle shortly.
The filing and withdrawal deadline is at noon Wednesday. County Clerk Tammy Vopat says the process is easy for prospective candidates.
Lyon County ballot items include County Commission First District, township clerks and precinct committee positions. For the County Commission, Republican Ken Duft has filed for the seat. Incumbent Scott Briggs, a Democrat who has served the district since 2006, hasn’t said whether he plans to run for re-election.
At the state level, all Kansas House candidates are on the ballot. Incumbent Mark Schreiber of the 60th District is currently unchallenged in the primary, although he could face Mic McGuire in the general election. 76th House District incumbent Eric Smith of Burlington filed for re-election this week. He currently has no opposition, either on the Republican or Democrat side. Joe Newland of Neodeshea, meanwhile, is representing the 13th District, which will expand to southwest Lyon County and Chase County as part of redistricting next year. He has filed for re-election and currently has no opposition.
State positions including governor, secretary of state, attorney general, treasurer and insurance commissioner are up for election. State Board of Education positions and judicial positions are also coming up. The state ballot also includes a vote on the so-called “Value Them Both” amendment, which says the Kansas Constitution doesn’t create or continue a right to abortions and the document doesn’t mandate government funding of abortions if voters approve.
At the federal level, the US House positions are on the ballot. With Lyon County shifting from the First District to the Second, representation changes from one Republican, Tracey Mann, to Jake LaTurner, another Republican. Both are running for re-election. The Senate seat held by Jerry Moran is also up for election. Moran, a Republican, faces a primary challenge from Joan Farr. Five Democrats — Mike Andra, Paul Buskirk, Mark Holland, Robert Klingenberg and Michael Soetart — are already in the primary field.
Meanwhile, June and July will be busy for voters. The deadline to change party affiliation is June 10, while the voter registration deadline is July 12. Advance voting starts July 18, with a special three-day offsite option July 20-23 at the Lyon County Fairgrounds Anderson Building.
More local information is on the county’s website, www.lyoncounty.org, by clicking on “Election Office” under the Government drop-down tab. State and federal information is available through the Kansas Secretary of State’s website, www.sos.ks.gov.
