The general election is quickly approaching and there are several dates of note that voters need to keep in mind over the next few weeks.
With that in mind, KVOE began what will be a recurring segment over the next several weeks on KVOE’s Morning Show, Monday, featuring Lyon County Election Officer Amie Jones. Jones and her team are deep into preparations for the election, including testing equipment, preparing ballots and much more.
For those who have yet to register to vote in the general election, Jones reminded them that the deadline to do so is nearly here; in fact, it is next Tuesday, October 14. If you are unsure if you are already registered, Jones says the election office has some helpful tools to make sure.
The next day following the registration deadline, election staff will begin sending out advance mail ballots, with Jones saying they are planning to send out just over 350 mail ballots this year.
During our interview with Jones, KVOE News had some questions regarding write-in candidate procedures, as the Emporia City Commission race will have one such candidate, Kenneth Gardner. According to Jones, the process for voting for write-in candidates is a simple one, both for electronic and traditional ballots.
On the ballot this year are city council and school board positions. For the Emporia City Commission, the candidates include Tyler Curtis, Kurt Steinkhuler, Tami Ogle, Monica Duncan, Travis Hitt, Aaron Larson, Denise Gilligan and Gardner as the write-in candidate. Incumbents Susan Brinkman and Jamie Sauder will not seek another term.
As for the USD 253 Emporia Board of Education election, that race is already settled, barring a major write-in campaign, as incumbents Lillian Lingenfelter and Jami Reever will retain their seats and will be joined by newcomer Barb Fowler, with incumbent Jennifer Thomas announcing she will not seek re-election. Lingenfelter, Reever and Thomas’ seats were the only ones up for election this year and Lingenfelter, Reever and Folwer were the only three candidates to file.
Jones will be back on KVOE’s airwaves with another election update on Monday at 7:20 am.
