20 March 2024
TOPEKA (KSNT) – While voter participation wasn’t as high as election leaders in Shawnee County hoped for, they say it was still a good turnout and an opportunity to test the waters ahead of the November election.
The Shawnee County Election Office tells 27 News around 8.4% of registered voters in Shawnee County participated in yesterday’s Presidential Preference Primary (PPP). That was higher than the state as a whole.
Of the total number of voters in Kansas:
6.9% of registered Kansas voters cast a vote
8.3% of registered Democrats cast a vote
10.7% of registered Republicans cast a vote
New Legislation is responsible for yesterday’s PPP, which is the first one in over 30 years. The Election Office says this may have contributed to the lower turnout.
“It’s an unusual time and I think it probably caught some people off guard a little bit, just being a little bit unusual to have an election like that in March,” Election Commissioner Andrew Howell said. “There were probably some people that weren’t really aware of how it works and what the finer points of the process and the new law was.”
Howell also says the purpose of the PPP is for each party to get an idea of which candidates the county would support in the November election. This is only Kansas’ third PPP ever.
Here are some important election dates upcoming for the 2024 elections:
2024 Primary Election:
Tuesday, July 16 – Voter registration deadline for 2024 primary election
Wednesday, July 17 – First day of advance voting
Tuesday, July 30 – Last day to apply for advance mail-in ballot
Monday, Aug. 5 – In-person advance voting ends at noon.
Tuesday, Aug. 6 – Primary election
2024 General Election:
Tuesday, Oct. 15 – Voter registration deadline for 2024 general election
Wednesday, Oct. 16 – First day of advance voting
Tuesday, Oct. 29 – Last day to apply for mail-in ballot
Monday, Nov. 4 – In-person advance voting ends at noon
Tuesday, Nov. 5 – General Election
KSNT 27 News is your local election headquarters. For more local election news, click here.
For more local news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.