‘Busy, busy’ morning of balloting at Hays American Legion (VIDEO)
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Hays Police Chief Don Scheibler has his voter photo identification verified by a poll workers.
By BECKY KISER Hays Post
Anxious voters were standing in line this morning at 6:45 a.m. at the Hays American Legion polling place, 27th and Canterbury, waiting for the polls to open at 7 a.m. It’s stayed “busy, busy” through mid-morning, according to poll judge Sandy Herrman.
Herrman has worked at the American Legion polling location for seven years, and this election is “about the busiest morning voting” she’s seen.
A “busy, busy” morning of voting at the Hays American Legion, according to poll judge Sandy Herrman.
Tight races in Kansas for governor and a U.S. Senate seat are expected to result in a bigger voter turnout than usual for mid-term elections. Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who faces Jean Schodorf in his own race, has predicted 50 percent of eligible Kansans will go to the polls today.
Ellis County Clerk Donna Maskus stopped by the American Legion about 8:30 a.m. to check on progress and to address any technical problems.
“No problems here this morning — I did have to go to Schoenchen earlier. There’ve been a few small things to attend to in some of the locations. Overall, things are going really smoothly,” Maskus said.
John Moravek casts his ballot Tuesday morning at the Hays American Legion.
The 111th House District seat pits Republican incumbent Rep. Sue Boldra against Democratic challenger James Leiker. Both are Hays residents. Ellis USD 388 patrons, which includes portions of western Ellis County and eastern Trego County, are voting on a nearly $9 million bond issue to finance school improvements.
Maskus prepared early for the likely higher voter turnout in Ellis County.
“We did try to find a few extra people to work the poll sites,” she said. “It takes a minimum of 60 people.”
In the county clerk’s office Tuesday morning, the count of “around 1,800 advance and mail-in ballots” indicated what Maskus hopes will be a “busy day:”
“I’m really pleased with what I’ve seen — a terrific advance vote count. We had lines of people waiting to advance vote, and we’re seeing across the county today. Hopefully, everybody will get out and vote.”
The polls are open in Ellis County until 7 p.m.
Check Hays Post and Eagle Radio for election results tonight.
