Make A Plan

If you haven’t already, now is the time to Make a Plan for voting! You can view your ballot online at https://bit.ly/ksvotesjoco. You can print it out, research the candidates and the issues, make notes, and take it with you to your polling place on Election Day or to any Advance Voting location starting today.

JoCO Kansas makes voting easy 3 ways!

• Since 1996, Johnson County has offered “No Excuse” Mail-in Ballots!
• We also offer Advanced In-Person Voting at 10 locations county-wide!
• And, of course, there’s always Election Day In-Person Voting at your assigned polling location!

All methods are safe, reliable, and easy!

Here are the TEN Advance Voting locations available for 2020:

• Arts and Heritage Center (This is my fave. It’s such a beautiful space!)
  8788 Metcalf Avenue
• Hilltop Conference Center
  7700 West 143rd Street
• Jo Co Election Office
  2101 East Kansas City Road
• Jo Co Northeast Offices
  6000 Lamar Avenue
• Johnson County Sunset Office
  11811 South Sunset Drive
• New Century Fieldhouse
  551 New Century Pkwy
• Okun Fieldhouse
  20200 Johnson Drive
• Olathe Indian Creek Library
  16100 W. 135th St.
• Oak Park Mall
  11327 W. 95th St.
• OP Convention Center
  6000 College Blvd

Mail-in Ballot Tips

For those who have requested a Mail-in Ballot, the first batch was sent out Wednesday. Below are some tips to make sure that process goes smoothly. 

• Follow the instructions on your ballot CAREFULLY.
• Include only one ballot in an envelope and make sure each household member uses the specific envelope that came with their ballot—election office matches barcodes.
• Sign your ballot envelope before sealing. Your ballot will be rejected if it’s missing a signature.
• Fill out your ballot RIGHT AWAY, after researching your candidates. This will give you the opportunity to track your ballot and make sure it was accepted.
• Return your ballot EARLY—technically it needs to be postmarked by November 3 and received by Friday, November 6, but it’s best to get it in sooner.
• Three options for returning your ballot. If possible, the first two are recommended.
  
  • Advance Voting locations. Advance voting starts this Saturday, Oct 17. There are 10 locations in Johnson County. You can skip the line and drop your sealed ballot in one of the secure boxes inside.
  • Ballot Dropbox. There are 8 secure 24-hour ballot drop boxes throughout Johnson County. Those will open Saturday morning, Oct 17.
  • Mail it in. If mailing, it is recommended to put it in the mail as soon as possible. 

• Track your ballot on Voter View. Once you have submitted your ballot, you can check Voter View to ensure your ballot has been received and accepted. Google Voter View or use this link https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView.

**TURN IN YOUR BALLOT EARLY. For faster processing, take your Mail-in Ballot to an Advance Voting location or a Ballot Dropbox.

Changed Your Mind?

If you already requested a Mail-in Ballot, you still need to fill out that ballot when you receive it — even if you changed your mind and don’t want to mail it in but want to go to an Advance Voting location or your Polling Place on Election Day.

Why

Because you’ve already been “assigned” that mail-in ballot, you will NOT be able to pull the proverbial lever at one of the machines at a polling location. When you check-in, the poll workers will see on your file that you have been assigned a Mail-in Ballot, and they will direct you to vote a Provisional Ballot (if you didn’t bring your mail-in ballot with you).

Provisional Ballots still count, BUT they take longer to vote, and they won’t be counted until after Election Day. Whereas, if you drop off your Mail-in Ballot at any Advance Voting location or Dropbox, it will be part of the unofficial counts on Election Night.

It can sound confusing, and it may change in future years, but this is all about checks and balances to ensure a fair election.

Dropbox Locations

• Shawnee Library – Ballot Dropbox
  13811 Johnson Dr, Shawnee
• Northeast Offices – Ballot Dropbox
  6000 Lamar Ave, Mission
• Central Resource Library – Ballot Dropbox
  9875 W 87th St, Overland Park
• Blue Valley Library – Ballot Dropbox
  9000 W 151st St, Overland Park
• Spring Hill Library – Ballot Dropbox
  109 S Webster St, Spring Hill
• Gardner Library – Ballot Dropbox
  137 E Shawnee St, Gardner
• De Soto Library – Ballot Dropbox
  33145 W 83rd St, De Soto
• Election Office
  2101 E Kansas City Rd, Olathe

What I’m Doing

If you’re like me, you may have requested a mail-in ballot, but now wish you had not jumped the gun so you could vote in-person at the machine. What I’m going to do is just take my completed mail-in ballot to the Arts & Heritage Center, skip the line, and drop it in the dropbox there. I still won’t get to “pull the lever”, such as it is, but I’ll rest confidently knowing that my vote made it to the election office on time to be counted. 😁

Questions?

Let me know if you have any questions. In addition to being your City Councilperson, I volunteered at the polls in 2018 and I am also an active member of the non-partisan League of Women Voters of JoCo communications team for GOTV (Get Out the Vote), so I can answer many voting questions now. 🙂

Happy Voting!!