‘This decision was wrong’: Wichita-area poll workers turned away voters before 7 p.m.
As many as 150 people standing in line at a voting center west of Wichita were turned away before polls closed on Tuesday evening.
Poll workers at Maize Recreation Center, just west of Wichita, directed the voters to go to a different polling location. It’s unclear why.
Anyone in line to vote by 7 p.m. on Election Day is allowed to cast a ballot. Tuesday’s ballot included a constitutional amendment that would remove abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution — the first state referendum on abortion rights since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating federal protections for abortion access.
Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Angela Caudillo was not immediately available for comment Tuesday night. Sedgwick County issued a written statement through the secretary of state’s office saying that Caudillo is aware of the problem.
“This decision was wrong,” the county statement said. “It was not made in conjunction with the Sedgwick County Election Office and these election workers did not have the authority to make this decision.”
“Anyone from the Maize Rec polling who arrived at a different polling location was allowed to vote provisionally,” the county statement said. “All polling sites have been directed to keep track of this information so that we can work to make sure those votes get counted.”
“This was an inappropriate decision made by the election workers,” Election Commissioner Angela Caudillo said, according to the statement. “This was immediately addressed with those workers.”
A spokesperson for the Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab said Sedgwick County has made them aware voters were wrongly turned away from a polling location.
“We are aware of it,” Whitney Tempel, spokesperson for the secretary of state’s office said. “And we have been working to resolve the problem so that everyone can cast a ballot that was turned away.”
Contributing: Matthew Kelly of The Eagle
