Nearly 2,500 ballots rejected during election canvass
Nov 14, 2024
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) - Sedgwick County Board of Canvassers met to certify the election results on Thursday.
During the canvass, members kept 6,047 provisional ballots and denied 2,491, primarily because they were not registered in Sedgwick County, according to Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater.
Rainwater says the majority of provisional ballots came from people who went to the wrong polling place. Another issue was that people had moved and did not update their voter registration.
The commissioner says it took so long to verify election results, partially because of the time it took to review ballot signatures. When there is a signature mismatch the voter has to be contacted and given a chance to confirm their signatures, "so that's very time consuming for staff but they get it done."
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"It's something we take very seriously, and at least two sets of eyes are looking at every ballot that comes in the mail, and if they don't agree, it goes to two more sets of eyes," Rainwater said.
Looking ahead to future elections, Rainwater says that Haysville and Derby will get more early voting locations. Maize will also get an early voting location.