By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
As the ballot names are set for the upcoming local election, Barton County Clerk and Elections Officer Bev Schmeidler is pleased with the number of candidates that filed. In Great Bend, every race for the city council, including the mayor, is contested except for the Ward 4 seat.
"We were excited about the turnout," said Schmeidler. "We're very proud to conduct elections. To have people want to participate so people have a choice instead of it being the same one that runs every time. Some of them do it because nobody else will. We hear that a lot with school boards especially."
For the first time since 2018, Barton County will need a Primary Election for a local government position. The Great Bend City Council Ward 2 seat has four candidates filed. Schmeidler said the rest of the local races will be sorted out in the General Election in November, but Ward 2 candidates will be narrowed down in August.
"The easiest way to explain the need for a Primary Election is it's three times the number of seats open, plus one," said Schmeidler. "So with it being one seat, three times that would be three, plus one. So when there were four filings then that caused the Primary. You can't just say, 'if this many file then it's going to cause a Primary.' It's different depending on the seat."
Schmeidler added it is important to note that only citizens within Ward 2 will vote in the Primary Election on Aug. 5. Voting will take place that day at the Holy Family School Parrish Center on Broadway Avenue from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. The top two vote getters from the Primary will be placed on the ballot for the General Election.
For a full list of candidates that filed in Barton County click HERE.