Ballot shortage in Linwood causes some Kansans to leave without voting

TOPEKA — Susan Schlag went to vote with her husband and 18-year-old son Tuesday morning, only to find that their Linwood polling place had run out of paper ballots. 

Although Schlag and her husband were able to wait in line for the single electronic voting machine, her son had to leave for a class at the University of Kansas, she said. 

“Even if it was unintentional and it was a lack of preparedness, it still feels like voter suppression, if people aren’t able to vote,” she said. 

Leavenworth County officials posted a statement on their official website confirming that the ballot shortage occurred at the Linwood Community Building and was due to an error in the number of ballots ordered. 

“The shortage was discovered early and efforts to correct the mistake began immediately,” the message said. 

Poll workers told Schlag that there were only 100 paper ballots for the district, she said. 

A worker spoke to Schlag’s son and told him how to get back in line when he returns to vote, she said.

Secretary of State Scott Schwab told reporters at an afternoon news briefing that 1,000 ballots had been delivered to make up for the shortage.

Bryan Caskey, the state elections director, said the shortage affected “dozens of people … not hundreds.”

Leavenworth County’s statement said if anyone was unable to vote due to the ballot shortage, they can return to the polling location or contact the county clerk’s office for assistance. 

Schlag said she saw 10 to 15 people leave without voting. She said there is rarely more than a 20-minute wait at that polling location. 

She’s been voting her entire life as an unaffiliated voter, said Schlag, 57. She originally chose to be independent so she could avoid receiving mailers and phone calls from the parties but found out she gets them from both parties. 

Voting is important, she said. 

“This one in particular felt extra important. There just seems to be a lot of sense of this being a very important vote and very important for everyone who’s eligible to vote to be able to cast a vote so we can continue to be a government by the people and for the people,” Schlag said.

Anna Kaminski contributed to this report.