Election day in Shawnee County: What you need to know
TOPEKA (KSNT) - Tuesday is local election day in Shawnee County. There are 90 polling locations throughout the county that will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The election will decide which candidates are elected to serve on the city council and area school boards. Just under 2,000 residents completed their advanced voting ballots and about 1,665 mail-in ballots were gathered.
Shawnee County Election Commissioner Andrew Howell says he expects to see only about 10-20% of registered voters tomorrow. During presidential elections, the voter turnout number jumps to 70-80%.
"Local elections do have an impact on your schools, your city streets, teachers, budgets, employees, how they do things, so they are critical," Howell said.
The election is non-partisan, meaning the ballots do not include whether a candidate is of the Democratic, Libertarian or Republican parties.
"It appears to be the case that [the Kansas Legislature] doesn't want the party to be the main driver for these elections," Howell said.
Howell, however, says voters are welcome to look at the counter books at the office to see what party candidates align with.