Will Kansas have another presidential preference primary after low turnout?
WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Voter turnout was light across the state on Tuesday for the presidential preference primary. With Kansas having only its third presidential preference primary in history, some are asking if there will be another.
“Next time, I think the parties need to look at it and see if they would like to go back to a caucus process. I would probably support that,” said former Kansas GOP Chair Kelly Arnold on Tuesday.
Voter turn out is lower than what state and local leaders had hoped for.
“No, this was never expected to be a big turnout,” said Arnold. “Yes, we have two candidates, one for Democrats, one for Republicans, but it’s still important for people to have that opportunity to have a say.”
Kansas presidential primary results
KSN political analyst Jeff Jarman points out that the Kansas legislature will decide to vote in or out the idea of another presidential preference primary.
“The caucus is less expensive for the state, but it doesn’t necessarily make it easier for everybody to participate,” said Jarman. “I hope the legislature will weigh all of those considerations in their future decision.”
He says that any election process is a win for voters, keeping alive the freedom to have a say.
“The important thing here is not the money that we’re spending, but participating in the process and letting the citizens of Kansas have an opportunity to express their opinion about who they want the nominees for these parties to be. That’s the most important thing,” said Jarman.
Jarman also says lawmakers will spend time debating the merits of the system used to see if it is what voters want moving forward.
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