Manual recalculation of votes in Sedgwick County confirmed a landslide victory for Abortion rights in Kansas on Sunday, but confusion over missed deadline added fuel to election deniers who I swear to keep challenging results of elections on August 2.
Hand counting in Sedgwick County has affirmed that the Appreciate Them Both Amendment, which seeks to remove the right to abortion from the Kansas State Constitution, failed by a wide margin in States second largest county, as well as statewide.
Statewide vote count changed less than one-tenth of one percentage point with Sedgwick County recount.
But Mark Gitzen, anti-abortion activist from Wichita who spreads unsubstantiated conspiracy theories about vote fraud and helps pay for count, he said plans refuse to pay approximately $31,800 for Sedgwick County recalculation unless ballots are taken into account for the third time. He said he was going to sue secretary of state on Monday looking for full manual recalculation of each race in state in August primaries.
“In the county of Sedgwick they need do appreciate them both again because it was total fucked up up”Gitzen said on Sunday after the campaign. board certified in results.
Another recount will probably end with same result. But Gitzen made it clear what he was looking for for any opportunity to cancel the election.
Central to Gitzen’s latest complaint is whether the Sedgwick County Board of Elections violated the state’s open assembly law when it delayed the recount and continued its work. on its recalculation on Saturday without notice public of time, place and date of counting activities.
Sedgwick County Electoral Commission Angela Caudillo said no observer was barred from observing the recount, which was taking place at the same time. location everyday.
“We never stopped our process,” Caudillo said. “Our doors were open every day. I know what news media was there at 6 or 7 on Friday while we were still working. And our doors were open people came in and we had observers.”
Two public statements from Sedgwick County after the vote count was completed failed mention work continued at Sedgwick County Extension Office on Saturday. Instead they mentioned board of campaign meetings in the historic courthouse in downtown Wichita.
Gitzen said observers were unable to observe the recount. on Saturday because they don’t know ballots still accounted for or where the process was playing out.
“They sent observers home Friday around noon,” Gitzen said. in Interview. “And then the election commission, who has a personal interest in trying to make it work, make the numbers match, admitted that they didn’t match, the numbers were bad, and then somehow we fixed it’s just to find out Saturday when they were in there is a working Saturday without notice to observers.
“I’m not going to pay for it,” Gitzen said. “It’s an absolute no-no.”
A recount in Kansas was requested earlier this month by Melissa Leavitt, a Colby election denier, and funded. in Gitzen party, leader of Kansas coalition for Life and Kansas Republican Assembly.
They didn’t raise enough money for a full state recalculation, but scrape together enough – $120,000 – to pay for recalculation in nine out of 105 counties, including some of the largest in the state.
Proposed Amendment “Appreciate Them Both” failed from 58% to 42% in Sedgwick County and 59% to 41% statewide.
In Sedgwick County, more more than 140 voters counted from 7:00 to 22:00 on Wednesday and Thursday, and then until lunch on Friday to meet the Saturday deadline.
“Although our board did great Work of count, in one they category failed separate votes into the right batches of plots,” Caudillo said. “So we had to go back as well as start checking those and that’s what happened on Saturday.”
After the election, the workers finished counting ballots On Friday around noon, they began manually entering handwritten results in computer spreadsheet. Caudillo said that when she corrected data entered into the spreadsheet on Friday evening, she found about 400 ballots which were not assigned parcels at the time of recalculation, resulting in a time-consuming process of tracking down those ballots and classify them accordingly.
By missing a deadline on Saturday, Sedgwick County confirmed its results around 4:30 pm on Sunday. It was last county to verify its recalculation.
The ballots were counted in four of the state’s most populous counties—Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Douglas, which rejected the ballot by a wide margin—and four smaller counties where the amendment failed. These counties were Crawford, Harvey, Jefferson and Lyon. They are also ordered a recalculation in Thomas County, where voters supported the amendment.
Recalculation of results did not change in Any of nine counties.
Communication problems
A heated exchange of views during the recount on Sunday was an example of a chaotic and politically fraught crossroads of abortion politics as well as false electoral conspiracies leading to a recount.
It started with District Commissioner Blames Electoral Commission of inciting mistrust in elections devolved into funding claims rescheduled on to one the commissioner told the other to watch his tone and finished with commissioners unanimously approve recount of landslide victory for the right to an abortion.
The amendment was rejected in Sedgwick County 85,885–61,843, and more than 24 042-vote win for abortion rights, according to official retell results checked Sunday. recalculation found 19 additional votes for amendment and 38 less against It, with 86 less ballots how original count in County of Sedgwick.
But the confusion that started late Friday night, if Gitzen gets his way, could lead for additional recalculation. Commission Chairman David Dennis, Republican Member of board of County officials, said he believed in the election results were precise but general in Gitzen’s discontent with absence of recalculation activity report on Saturday.
During the debriefing, Dennis scolded Caudillo. for without putting out Any public notifications or news releases to explain what happened on Saturday during the delay.
“I was expecting your office put out regular messages through our communications department to allow public know what’s going on because we have to do sure that these elections are open, transparent, fair and accurate,” Dennis said.
It didn’t happen, Dennis said.
At 2:43 pm, Friday, Sedgwick County Strategic Communications. posted a news let go of the campaign board will meet at 8 am Saturday at the historic downtown courthouse to certify the results, an indication that the recount was nearing completion.
All that has gone before left data entry was of handwritten results in computer spreadsheet and then proofreading the data entered into the spreadsheet for any anomalies.
At 11:24 pm that night, Sedgwick County posted two sentences news release announcing something went wrong wrong.
“Sedgwick County’s Pre-Scheduled Recount Poll for Saturday, August 20, 2022 was postponed”, – he said. “More time is needed and more information will be soon on redevelopment”.
No additional information was provided until 18:53 Saturday, after an additional work on the recalculation was completed without any new notification. Saturday evening news release announced canvas board meet on Sunday at 4:00 pm at the historic courthouse. It did not provide any more Details on in cause for a delay that was not revealed until Sunday’s poll.
“I’m sorry,” Caudillo said to Dennis. who expressed concern that observers were unaware that a recount was underway on Saturday. “I didn’t do anything proactive to notify them.”
“Well, I know you didn’t do anything active because I asked you for at least two or three times be active and you didn’t,” Dennis said.
Commissioner Lacey Cruz, also on the canvassing board tried to defuse the situation: “I wonder if this could be a discussion we could have after…”
“No,” Dennis interrupted. “Today is an open meeting to discuss the elections, and what we are doing is playing right into your hands of in people who say it’s not an accurate election.”
“Well maybe we could change our tone in how we’re doing it,” Cruz said.
In response, Caudillo pointed out the flaw of Resources in Sedgwick County Board of Elections, both to conduct a recount and to process public connections.
“Frankly, I don’t have the resources in my office do the work that I need do. … I don’t currently I have staffing need do all of in work what should i do together with the work I have to do,” she said.
Elections office – which is technically subordinate to Kansas secretary of state, but funded by the District of Sedgwick, does not have its own representative and relies on on Sedgwick County Strategic Communications, which are subordinate to the county. manager write and send news releases.
“I devoted my time to trying to look at what I needed to pay attention to in order to make sure we could achieve that,” Caudillo said. “And, unfortunately, we couldn’t meet the deadline.”
Denis was not happy with Reply to Caudillo.
“There are a large number of people who do not believe that our elections are fair and accurate,” he said. “We must do sure that we are doing our best to dispel this myth. I sincerely believe that they are; I’m not saying they don’t exist. I believe we are doing the right thing. it just what should we do sure that we are doing our part to preserve public informed, and we don’t.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman. I will do better,” Caudillo said. “As the observers showed up, I figured they knew.
This story was originally published August 21, 2022, 9:02 pm.
