By MIKE COURSON
Great Bend Post
Without a lot of historical reference, there are many unknowns heading into the upcoming Presidential Preference Primary on March 19. High turnout or low, Barton County Clerk Bev Schmeidler said her office will handle it just like any other election.
"All of our same polling places are going to be used," she said. "We're going to use pretty much the same number of staff at those polling locations because we don't know what to anticipate. This is kind of historic. This is only the third time to have a Presidential Preference Primary in Kansas."
Kansas last held a Presidential Preference Primary in 1992, and 1980 is the only other year such an election has occurred in the state. The parties each had until Dec. 1 to opt out of the primary. Clerks offices around the state were officially told it would happen on Dec. 21. The Kansas Secretary of State's office held a live drawing to determine the order in which the candidates would be listed.
"For this election, this Presidential Preference Primary, every ballot in the state of Kansas will look the same," Schmeidler said. "Everyones' will be in the same order. Normally, we have a rotation involved where candidate A is at the top on this ballot, and maybe another precinct candidate B, then candidate C and so on so it's different names at the top. This one, every ballot in the state of Kansas will look the same."
The deadline to register or update voter registration for the primary is Feb. 20. Unaffiliated voters may still declare a party through Election Day. Vote results are given to the Republican and Democratic parties to allocate delegates at the national convention.
The League of Women Voters is hosting a "Lunch and Learn" in the lower-level meeting room at the Great Bend Public Library from noon to 1 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 15. Schmeidler will answer questions about the upcoming election.