OK, Kansas City. It’s time to go online, visit your local election authority’s website, print off a sample ballot and do your research.
Lauri Ealom with the Kansas City Election Board is predicting long, long lines on Tuesday if people aren’t prepared.
That’s because the ballot is 18 inches long.
Front and back.
“You’ll be voting on the president, the governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, treasurer, attorney general, U.S. reps, state senators, state reps, Jackson County executive, Jackson County prosecutor, Jackson County sheriff, supreme court, circuit court judges, associate judges, State of Missouri questions. There’s one, two – ” Ealom counts “ – six of those.”
The list goes on. By the time you get to Proposition L, the Mid-Continent Public Library question, you’ll have answered 13.
(The type gets tiny, Ealom says. Ask for a magnifying glass if you need one.)
“Fill out the sample ballot and take the sample ballot with you to the polls to serve as a study guide so you can use that,” says Ealom. “If in fact that is done, your vote time – we’ve timed people – it’s about seven minutes.”
And if voters aren’t prepared?
Well, that’s when it’s taking 31 minutes start-to-finish.
Not in Kansas City proper?
Jackson, Platte and Clay counties all offer sample ballots or candidate lists on their websites.
Kansans, you can vote early. Here’s where to go in Johnson and Wyandotte counties.
Elle Moxley is a reporter for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
