6 votes separate these 2 Wyandotte County candidates. Why seat’s still up for grabs

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As outstanding ballots are counted, the race for a seat to represent south-central Kansas City, Kansas, on Wyandotte County’s governing body has narrowed to six votes.

Philip Lopez, who owns a tree trimming business, on Thursday remained ahead of Steve Neal, pastor of First Baptist Church of Turner, in the race for District 6 on the Board of Commissioners for the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas. The seat is currently held by Angela Markley, who did not seek reelection, and covers the Turner, Morris and Muncie neighborhoods.

After an update of unofficial results Thursday, Lopez totaled 827 votes while Neal had 821. Fourteen voters wrote in other candidates. The update came as more mail-in ballots were counted.

The race could swing as the Wyandotte County Election Office goes through 1,200 outstanding mail-in ballots that were postmarked before or on Election Day but not received until later. They will be accepted through Friday. The office is also sifting through more than 300 provisional ballots countywide, which are not counted on Election Day but set aside for canvassers to consider later.

Wyandotte County Election Commissioner Michael Abbott said workers were sorting provisional ballots into categories, like if the resident was made to vote provisionally because of an address or name change.

Provisional ballots are used if there is any doubt about a voter’s eligibility at the polling place. Most provisional ballots count: In prior years, about 70% of provisional ballots have counted in the county.

“You can look at a provisional ballot as a safety net,” Abbott said Thursday. “We’ll never turn down a voter, no matter what.”

At least 15 provisional ballots could affect the District 6 race, according to election data obtained by The Star through a records request mid-day Thursday. But the Election Office cautioned that workers were “just now” starting to research and log Election Day provisional ballots, so that figure will likely change.

As ballots continue to be counted, Friday will mark the final unofficial results until Wednesday morning, when provisional ballots will be presented to the Board of Canvassers, which will decide whether or not to accept ballots. The final count will be verified then, as is part of the normal election process.

The election office will recommend a ballot not be counted for reasons like if the person who cast it was not a registered voter. But registered votes who simply changed addresses will be counted.

A person may need to vote provisionally if they did not bring correct identification to the polls. The option exists to make sure that people are not denied the opportunity to vote based on a technicality, said Sharon Brett, legal director of the ACLU of Kansas.

“Counting provisional ballots is an incredibly important part of ensuring that everybody has the opportunity to participate” in elections, Brett said.

In tight races, it’s not uncommon for provisional ballots to swing elections once they are processed.

Residents who voted provisionally can call the election office after the canvass to see if their votes were counted.

Watching the results day to day, Neal said there could be enough outstanding votes to swing the race. Asked if he might request a recount, depending on the outcome, he said he is waiting for the final results.

“We’re optimistic that it might flip but we’re not going to get overly excited,” Neal said.

Lopez did not immediately return a call or text seeking comment Thursday.

The District 6 race remains the closest. The second tightest race was in District 3, where Commissioner Christian Ramirez, elected in 2020 to represent the Rosedale and Argentine neighborhoods, appeared to hold on to his seat against challenger Tina Medina. Ramirez got 567 votes, while Medina came in at 501, according to the latest unofficial results.