Tuesday’s election is a big election. Here’s what you can expect from the Douglas County Elections Office and our news team.

Polling stations will open at 7 a.m. on Tuesday and close at 7 p.m. We’ll be out and about talking to some voters at the polls. (For more information you need to vote on Election Day, check out this article. Our full voting guide can be found at this link.)

Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said early voting results are expected to be available Tuesday beginning at 7:45 p.m.

We’ll publish articles with these results in easy-to-read charts as soon as possible – stay tuned to LawrenceKSTimes.com and our social media pages (Facebook, TwitterThreads and elsewhere) for the latest updates.

“At some point this evening we will likely supplement the pre-cast numbers from ballots cast earlier that day,” Shew said. “It takes some time for a ballot envelope to be processed, checked for security and reviewed by the advance committee.”

After the results are released around 7:45 p.m., Shew said there will likely be updates about every half hour.

“Polling locations are subject to a series of required audits and matching of ballots and signatures,” Shew said. “Due to our projected turnout, it will take some time for the panels to be completed and arrive at the office.”

Even after the last update on Tuesday evening, the election results are not yet completely final. The office will continue to add ballots received on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as long as they were properly postmarked on or before Election Day. If Tuesday’s races are very close, those additional ballots could determine the winner.

There will be a voting rally to certify the results on Monday, Nov. 18, at 9 a.m. at the elections office, 711 W. 23rd St., Suite 1 in Lawrence. The survey is open to the public, Shew said.

“Until the questioning, nothing is official,” he said.

Results and delays

With voters in Douglas County already breaking in-person early voting turnout records over the weekend, turnout is expected to be very high overall. Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab also predicted a record number of voters.

In Kansas, polls statewide must be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. However, counties may also choose to open polls at 6 a.m. and/or keep polls open until 8 p.m. This could delay some results slightly.

Statewide results will be available on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website, sos.ks.gov, as they are received.

As a hyperlocal publication, our focus is not on national results. We will report on how Douglas County voted in the presidential and other national elections, but that will not be our top priority on election night.

Experts have warned that nationally, “Election Day is not a results day.”

For more information about voting in Douglas County, visit the county website. If you have any questions, you can email [email protected] or call 785-832-5267.

If you have any questions about our insurance coverage, please contact us. We will do our utmost to help you. Find our full election guide and other coverage below.

Mackenzie Clark (she/her), reporter/founder of the Lawrence Times, can be reached at [email protected]. Read more about her work for the Times here. Check out their employee biographies here.

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