Now that former Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden’s investigation into the county’s election procedures is officially closed, a few more details have come to light about the one charge he forwarded for possible prosecution.
District Attorney Steve Howe sent a press release on Thursday with a few more facts about a single case of alleged election interference Hayden referred to his office in 2023.
In his release, Howe suggested he was releasing more details about that lone case because his office had received inquiries about it. His release also came a day after new Johnson County Sheriff Byron Roberson announced the election probe was officially closed, detailing more facts about the investigation, including its cost to taxpayers.
News organizations, including the Johnson County Post, first reported on the single case related to Hayden’s investigation passed on to prosecutors in 2023.
‘Election volunteer’ at center of case
Howe said the incident that led to the charge was alleged to have happened at about 5 p.m. on July 13, 2022, a date that would have been before Johnson County voters could vote in person in advance of the August primaries that summer.
Information obtained by the Post at the time revealed a 37-year-old Roeland Park woman was the alleged victim but no narrative details were provided.
Howe said in his release Thursday that the allegation stemmed from a complaint by an “election volunteer” who had wanted to vote in person on Election Day, the final day of in-person voting.
However, she was told that as a matter of policy, election volunteers agree to vote before then so that they can cover their posts for the entire Election Day. It is not known if the volunteer went ahead and voted during the advance voting period.
Howe said he declined to file charges of election interference because “there was no evidence of a crime.”
He added he would not comment further.
Investigation cost taxpayers $88,000
Hayden’s controversial three-year investigation was officially closed by Roberson this week after the new sheriff reviewed the findings.
This week, Roberson released a summary of his review which said more than 100 complaints were generated by three people and that the county spent $88,000 on the investigation.
Hayden had cast suspicions on the county’s voting process often in public speeches, saying he was obligated to pursue the many complaints that were coming in.
His investigation’s beginning in 2021 coincided with a national “stop the steal” movement alleging the 2020 presidential victory was stolen from President Donald Trump.
No election irregularities were ever charged and county and state officials have steadfastly stood by the integrity of their procedures.
