KANSAS CITY, Kan. – Despite the winter storm warning, the primary election in Kansas must go on Tuesday. That’s why workers at the Wyandotte County Elections office are spending the night Monday.
There’s a continuous stream of people coming through the doors at the elections office, and paid volunteers there to help, no matter what it looks like outside.
“I know I can get home tonight, but I don’t think I would be able to get in in the morning so that’s why I’m staying,”said election worker Vera Davis.
Davis is one of many paid volunteers, staying the night on the eve of the primary election. The show must go on under Kansas law.
Election Commissioner Bruce Newby said volunteers won’t finish their work until about midnight then they have to get right back up, so it makes sense to stay the night.
“We’ll probably catch a couple of hours of shut eye but then probably 3 or 3:30 in the morning we’ll probably be back up trying to put everything together of what has to happen between then and when polls open at 7 a.m.,” Newby said.
Newby said volunteers will sleep where ever there is free space, likely upstairs. He said the Unified Government of Wyandotte County will provide 30 cots.
Workers said that is much better than last week, when a handful of the them spent the night during that snow storm. They said there was just a single cot then.
So, while it’s not quite where these volunteers want to lay their head, they say it’s worth it to keep the polls open for voters.
“If we’re going to have voting here we’re going to be short-staffed and we all have to pitch in to help each other so that’s why I’m here,” Davis said.
For a list of polling locations in Wyandotte and Johnson Counties, click here.
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