By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
There is no special requirement to early vote in Barton County. Commissioner Shawn Hutchinson and Election Officer Bev Schmeidler clarified at Tuesday's commission meeting that any registered voter can vote early at the clerk's office on the second floor of the Barton County Courthouse. Schmeidler said many already have.
"We've had a really good turnout," she said. "We've had almost 1,900 voters. Two hundred and eighty-eight (Monday). I think our slowest day was 147."
Early voting in Barton County can only be done at the clerk's office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The office will also be open this Saturday, Nov. 2 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Early voting in the office ends at noon on Monday, Nov 4., and polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day Nov. 5. Turnout has been good in Barton County and around the state.
"Yesterday, we're already at a little over 10 percent turnout as a whole," Schmeidler said. "For perspective, in the August primary, we only had 20.28 percent turnout for the entire election."
Sixty-eight percent of voters in Barton County turned out for the 2020 Presidential Election. On Monday, KMBC in Kansas City reported more than 233,000 votes had been cast in Kansas so far this year, compared to nearly 142,000 over the same period in the 2020 election.