The Johnson County Election Office will recount by hand ballots cast in this November’s much-watched vote over a Prairie Village ballot question to “abandon” the city’s form of government.
The move comes at the request of a Prairie Village resident, John Cantrell, who posted the $5,800 bond this weekend to move forward with the recount, despite the fact the measure lost by a nearly 30 percentage point margin.
On Saturday, the county commission acting as the Johnson County Board of Canvassers approved the recounting of ballots for the question that asked Prairie Village voters whether the city should “abandon” its current mayor-council form of government.
Prairie Village voters overwhelmingly rejected the question with the “No” side receiving nearly 65% of the vote in the final official count, which was certified by the county canvassing board last week.
In total, 9,010 votes were cast on the “abandon” question, with 5,842 “No” votes to 3,168 “Yes” votes, according to the election office. The final margin of victory for the “No” side was 64.8% to 35.2%.
Councilmember Cole Robinson, who won his race for reelection this November, said the “abandon” vote had a “very clear election outcome” and that he didn’t understand the intent behind requesting the recount.
“Residents staunchly rejected an attempt to take our city in an uncertain direction and instead spoke loudly and clearly to stop the drama and get back to doing the business of the city,” Robinson told the Post Saturday.
Who is requesting the recount?
Cantrell, who along with his wife Barbara, are supporters of the resident group PV United, which urged a “Yes” vote on the “abandon” question.
During the campaign, the Cantrells’ home in Prairie Village was festooned with banners and signs supporting a “Yes” vote, as well as six PV United-backed city council candidates, all of whom lost.
Cantrell did not immediately respond to the Post’s request for comment for this story.
The “abandon” question originated two years ago out of the city’s fractious housing debate, with PV United vocally opposed to any changes to local zoning codes.
The group authored the “abandon” petition aimed at ditching the city’s current mayor-council government. It was originally paired with an “adoption” petition that aimed to install a different form of government in Prairie Village and remove six of the twelve sitting city councilmembers at the time.
(Read more about the “abandon” petition here, and the Post’s coverage of the contentious 2025 city council election in Prairie Village here.)
Mayor Eric Mikkelson called the results of the “abandon” vote this November “unusually decisive” and that he expects the recount to vindicate that.
“Our city is moving on by accepting [the results], healing past divisions, and uniting to fulfill this bright future illuminated by our fair election,” he said.
Originally, 2 requests for Prairie Village recounts
The county canvassing board met early Saturday morning originally to hear two requests for recounts for election results in Prairie Village.
Along with a recount of the “abandon” vote, there was initially also a request for a recount of ballots for a Ward 3 city council contest. It’s not clear if Cantrell was the party also requesting the Ward 3 recount.
Shelby Bartelt won that race against Amy Aldrich by a margin of 55.9% to 44%, according to final results.
In order for a recount request to move forward, a bond must be posted to cover the costs of the recount. (The county will pay for a recount of a race decided by a margin of 0.5% or less.)
On Saturday, Cantrell posted a $5,800.30 bond for a recount of the “abandon” petition vote but not for a separate recount of the Ward 3 race. (The recount bond was paid with a credit card, necessitating an additional 30-cent charge, election officials said.)
The Johnson County Election Office said it received “a timely request” and “a timely bond payment” to cover the costs for a recount on the “abandon” question.
If the election result is overturned as a result of the recount, then Cantrell’s bond payment will be returned, according to election officials.
The $5,800 bond figure represents a maximum cost for the recount, an election office spokesperson confirmed. Any money over what it ends up costing the county to do the recount will be refunded.
What happens next
- The county election office says a team of bipartisan election workers will recount the votes by hand following Saturday morning’s approval to move the recount forward.
- In order to hear and certify the recount results, the board of canvassers is scheduled to reconvene at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at the Johnson County Election Office, 2101 E. Kansas City Road.
Keep reading elections news: Johnson County makes election results official — Here are the races that were closest
Roxie Hammill and Kyle Palmer contributed to this report.
