Correction: This story has been updated to show polls will be open Election Day, Nov. 5, from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Some 43,000 applications for mail-in election ballots with the wrong return address are on their way to Johnson Countians, the result of an error by an out-of-state nonprofit whose mission is to encourage people to vote.
Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said the mailers come from the Center for Voter Information, a Washington D.C.-based 501(c)(4) group that bills itself as a nonpartisan organization helping people register and vote.
The group, which ProPublica and Influence Watch report is left leaning, sent filled-out applications with pre-paid return envelopes and a bar code. The applications are to request a mail-in ballot from the county election office.
However, the address for the election office on the mailers is off by one numeral and is not a valid address, Sherman said.
The correct county election office address is 2101 East Kansas City Road, Olathe, KS 66061.
A post by the Election Office on social media site X (formerly Twitter) urges recipients to double-check the address if they receive one of these mailers.
“This is an important reminder that third-party organizations are not always reliable sources of information,” the post says.
1⃣ U.S. Postal Service has been notified of this issue.
We have requested USPS to direct any mailing with the INCORRECT and fictitious address of 2102 E. Kansas City Road in Olathe to be sent to the CORRECT address of 2101 E. Kansas City Road, Olathe, KS 66061.
— Johnson County Election Office (@jocoelection) September 18, 2024
Group says it will stop sending mailers to Johnson County
Since the applications came from a third party, county election officials have no control over what was sent, Sherman said.
He added that his office is working with the U.S. Postal Service to flag the erroneous mailers and forward them to the correct address.
So far he said he has seen a few of the mailers arrive at his office after being successfully forwarded. He said he has spoken with officials from the Center for Voter Information, and they said they would not send any more mailers.
Tom Lopach, president and CEO of the center, acknowledged the group’s mistake in an email to the Post and said steps have been taken to make sure the Postal Service delivers the applications to the right place.
“We regret this mistake and are making every effort to ensure that all Johnson County residents can use our forms to easily participate in democracy,” Lopach said.
He added that the group’s mission is, “working to ensure the New American Majority (NAM) — people of color, young people, and unmarried women — participate in democracy equal to their presence in society.”
What if you get a mailer with the erroneous address?
Sherman said recipients of incorrect mailers have several options.
They can scan the application and email it to the Johnson County Election Office.
They can also take a picture of the application and text it or even walk it into the election office in Olathe.
There’s no obligation to send in the application from the Center for Voter Information, nor is there any need for anyone who’s already requested a ballot to fill out a second one from the nonprofit.
By next week, people who have already requested mail-in ballots from the county election office should be able to check the status of their application online or by calling the election office, Sherman said.
An ‘unfortunate’ mistake
Mail-in ballots will begin going out Oct. 16.
The deadline to request a mail-in ballot is Oct. 29, but Sherman doesn’t advise waiting until then because of possible delays in postal delivery before the Nov. 5 general election.
The Kansas Secretary of State’s Office penned a letter to the U.S. postmaster general earlier this month, saying roughly 1,000 ballots statewide cast in August’s primary were not counted because they arrived too late in the mail.
Sherman said the incorrect information on the Center for Voter Information forms appears to be due to clerical error. The mailer has disclaimers saying it is from a private, nonprofit group.
“I think they’re trying and listening. It’s unfortunate the mistake happened for Johnson County,” he said.
How you can vote in Johnson County
There are more than 460,000 registered voters in Johnson County.
The number who voted by mail in 2022, the last even-year election, was 35,000 – down from the high of 150,000 during the pandemic year of 2020, Sherman said.
The number of voters voting by mail has not returned to pre-pandemic levels of about 46,000, he said, possibly because mail-in ballots have become a fraught political topic, with former President Trump routinely railing against absentee and mail-in voting in recent years.
Mail-in ballots are only one way to vote.
Voters can also cast ballots early at select in-person sites in Johnson County, beginning Saturday, Oct. 19 and ending at noon on Monday, Nov. 4.
You can also vote on Election Day itself, Nov. 5, when polling places will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The deadline to register to vote is Oct. 15.
For more particulars on voting and candidates, check the county election office website.
