Final vote tallies for the Nov. 5 election in Johnson County were certified Monday, settling the winners in three Kansas legislative districts that previously had margins of less than 250 votes.
The numbers, which were adjusted from the original tallies to include provisional ballots that were allowed to be counted, prompted no change to the unofficial Election Night results, confirming that the three candidates who were ahead on Nov. 5 won their respective races.
On Monday, Johnson County commissioners, acting as the county canvassing board, approved the final election results to count or partially count another 6,656 provisional ballots overall.
A provisional ballot could be counted under a variety of circumstances, for example, signing on the incorrect line, poll worker error or a mismatched signature. When applicable, provisional voters are given a chance to fix their mistakes.
Another 2,997 provisional ballots were not counted, which included 282 that had a late arrival or postmark. However, 2,298 of the uncounted ballots were from people who had not registered to vote.
Three close Kansas House races
Kansas House districts 15, 28 and 49 had margins that were within 250 votes as unofficial results were released on Election Night.
In the closest one — House District 49 in Olathe — incumbent Democratic Rep. Nikki McDonald and Republican Kurtis Ruf were only 95 votes apart. That margin was close enough that it triggered a state-mandated audit conducted by a bipartisan review board.
After provisional ballots were included, McDonald’s ultimate margin of victory grew to 148 votes.
In House District 15 in Olathe, Republican Lauren Bohi held a 131-vote margin in the unofficial totals. That decreased to 106 over Democratic incumbent Rep. Allison Hougland once the provisional total came in, leaving Bohi the winner.
In House District 28 in southern Overland Park and Leawood, Republican Rep. Carl Turner had a 235-vote advantage over Democrat Ace Allen in the unofficial totals. That fell to a 155-vote margin after the additional votes were counted during the canvass.
Candidates concede
The House districts were closely watched as Democrats had hoped to reduce the GOP supermajority in the Kansas Legislature next session, but Republicans instead picked up two seats in Johnson County, unseating incumbent Hougland (as well as another Olathe-area Democrat, Dennis Miller).
In turn, voters re-elected Turner in the closely watched District 28 race.
Allen and Ruf posted concession statements on social media before the final count was announced.
Allen, who challenged Turner, thanked his supporters on social media site X and said he does not challenge the outcome. He went on to say in the comments that the nation faces a dangerous time and a “sea change” following the Nov. 5 results.
He also warned that extremists in the state legislature could pose “a very real threat of long-term damage to our beloved Kansas. The election is over but the battle is not. The passion and commitment we brought to this campaign must now be brought forward to the bigger, even harder campaigns that face us.”
Ruf on his campaign’s Facebook page also said he accepted the results and has congratulated McDonald. He thanked the county election office and secretary of state’s office for their efforts in ensuring election integrity in a close race.
Additional notes from the canvass
Also at the brief meeting, write-in winners of five township offices were announced.
They included:
- Darrel Dougan for Aubry Township Trustee
- Mike Casey for Gardner Township Treasurer
- Austin Chase for Lexington Township Treasurer
- Joseph Tinker for Olathe Township Treasurer
- Brooke McNally for Oxford Township Treasurer
Election commissioner Fred Sherman said his office does not know if those people will agree to serve.
The vote to certify was unanimous. Commissioner Charlotte O’Hara, who lost her bid for reelection to the county commission, voted by proxy through County Appraiser Beau Boisvert.
