Act now to have your voice heard in November

With a little more than a month before the Nov. 6 elections, now is a good time to plan how you’ll vote.

Maybe you’re a traditionalist, someone who likes to wade into the polling booth armed with a paper ballot and a marker to darken the little oval next to your preferred candidate. Maybe you like to use an electronic voting machine, which allows you to adjust the size of the type so it’s easier to read. Maybe you want to vote at the courthouse ahead of the election. Or maybe you want to have a ballot sent to you in the mail, without ever leaving your house.

“We try to make it as easy as possible for people to vote,” County Clerk Sherrie Riebel said.

Oct. 16 is the last day to register to vote in the Nov. 6 general election. Riebel said she plans to have a voter registration booth set up at Farm-City Days Oct. 12-13, as she does every year. Typically, the booth adds just a couple voters to the rolls, but it’s effective at reminding voters of coming elections.

While Riebel hasn’t seen an increase in the number of registered voters in Allen County, she’s noticed a significant increase in applications for advance ballots.

“Advocacy groups have been helping people mail advance applications and we’ve gotten back quite a few. That’s unusual,” she said.

Groups like Kansas Appleseed, a non-profit organization that works on behalf of vulnerable and excluded Kansans, have organized voter education meetings in Iola in recent months. Organizers also are working to establish a local chapter of the Kansas League of Women Voters. Kansas Appleseed held a voter registration drive at Moran Days. They’re planning a volunteer recruitment event at 6 p.m. Saturday at Allen Community College to find staff for a voter registration booth at Farm-City Days and at other events.

During the 2016 election, about 800 Allen County voters cast an early ballot, either by advance ballot or by early voting at the clerk’s office. But that was a presidential election year,  along with several races for local offices, all of which typically draw high voter interest. Riebel expects a lower turnout this year. She predicts about 30 percent of Allen County’s 8,549 total registered voters — roughly, 2,565 — will cast a ballot in the general election.

ADVANCE BALLOTS before an election are useful for those who will be out of town on Election Day, the elderly, college students or even for voters who just don’t want the hassle of going to the polls. Only those who are disabled can request to always receive an advance ballot. Allen County has about 119 permanent advance ballots.

The clerk’s office will begin mailing advance ballots Oct. 17, though you can continue to request one until Oct. 30. Advance ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and received in the clerk’s office no later than the third day following the election. Advance ballots can be hand-delivered to the clerk’s office or any polling place by the close of polls.

Voters also can choose to vote at the clerk’s office beginning Oct. 17 until noon Nov. 5. The clerk’s office typically is open between 7:45 a.m. to 5 p.m., including through the lunch hour, Monday through Friday. The office will stay open until 8 p.m. Oct. 30 and Nov. 1 to accommodate voters outside of normal business hours.

The clerk’s office has added several new electronic voting machines, which print selections onto a paper ballot that will be run through a counting machine. Voters sometimes hesitate to use the machines but most tend to like them after they give them a chance, Riebel said. The touchscreen is easier for those with conditions like arthritis and the size of the type can be adjusted to make the names easier to read.

TO REGISTER to vote, go to the Allen County Clerk’s Office at the courthouse at 1 N. Washington, or visit www.allencounty.org/countyclerk.html and click on the “Voter Registration Application” link at the top right. You can also find an application form here.