Election Day in Kansas City: Who’s on the city council ballot, where to vote & more
If you haven’t voted early or by mail, Tuesday is Election Day in Kansas City.
Here’s a review of everything you need to know to cast your ballot for mayor and city council candidates.
Kansas Citians will cast ballots in their new council districts, formed after the latest round of redistricting, to decide who will be calling the shots at City Hall for the next four years. Voters will vote for all at-large district candidates, as well as an in-district candidate for the district where they live.
Seven of the current 13 Kansas City Council members, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, want another four years in office, but only one of them is a shoo-in. Councilwoman Ryana Parks-Shaw is running unopposed in the 5th District.
Six council seats are wide open because the current members’ terms are up at the end of July, and only one of those spots is uncontested. Former Democratic state Rep. Wes Rogers has no opponent in the 2nd District.
As Lucas seeks another four-year term, his opponent is perennial candidate Clay Chastain, who has never won elected office.
What time do polls open?
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m.
How do I find my polling place around Kansas City?
Missouri voters should check with the state’s voter outreach search tool.
You can also check directly with your local election board.
Keep in mind: Some polling locations may have changed, so it’s important to make sure you double check your polling location before heading out to vote on Election Day.
What should I bring to the polls?
Registered Missouri voters will need a government-issued photo ID in order to vote. If you don’t have a qualified photo ID, you will be asked to fill out a provisional ballot.
Accepted forms of photo ID for Missouri include:
A non-expired Missouri driver’s license or a state ID
A non-expired military ID, including a veteran ID card
A U.S. passport or another form of photo ID issued by the U.S. government or the state of Missouri that is not expired
Has my voting district changed?
Maybe.
The most dramatic shift is in the Northland. Districts 1 and 2 will switch from an east-west split along N. Oak Trafficway and N. Woodland Avenue to more of a north-south split along NW Barry Road and Interstate 152 — with District 1 to the north, and District 2 to the south.
Districts 3 and 4 will remain relatively similar to how they were before. District 4 will extend north to the Gladstone border at NE Englewood Road and east to N. Antioch Road in the Northland. In the Northeast, District 4 will extend slightly farther south of Independence Avenue, down past Truman Road in one part. District 3 will extend south of Blue Parkway to 56th Street in one part.
District 5 is growing in size and now extends south to include the entire section of the city south of Interstate 470 down to E. 155th Street, bordered by Grandview and Lee’s Summit. District 6 will gain the area surrounding the Country Club Plaza and the West Plaza neighborhood.
For comparison, here’s a look at the old map.
Existing council district map
Click on each numbered annotation for more information.
Open
And here’s a look at the new map for the June 20 election. It says effective August 1, because that is when the new council members will be sworn into office.
New district map effective Aug. 1, 2023
Click on each numbered annotation for more information.
How do I contact my election office?
There are multiple election offices serving residents in Kansas City. If you have specific questions about your polling place, operating hours or what else you might need to know ahead of voting, make sure you get in touch with your local election office.
The Kansas City Election Board oversees elections for Kansas City residents who live south of the river.
816-842-4820
30 West Pershing Road, Suite 2800, Kansas City
Cass County Election Authority
Those who live south of Jackson County, in cities like Raymore or Belton, should check in with the Cass County Election Authority.
816-380-8102
102 E. Wall St., Harrisonville
Folks north of the Missouri River and east of North Platte Purchase Drive should go to Clay County for more information.
816-415-8683
100 W. Mississippi St., Liberty
Platte County Board of Elections
People who live north of the MIssouri River and west of North Platte Purchase Drive should check in with Platte County.
816-858-4400
2600 NW Prairie View Road, Platte City
How do I learn more about what will be on my ballot?
The Star surveyed all of the Kansas City Council candidates about their policy priorities. You can read their responses in their own words at kansascity.com/voter-guide.
Mayor
Lucas had only one opponent on the ballot, so the outcome of the contest between him and challenger Chastain was purely academic. All the same, voters preferred Lucas, who received more than 35,000 votes to Chastain’s 8,000. They’ll meet again in the general election.
1st District at large
Incumbent Kevin O’Neill is facing off with fellow northlander Ronda Smith in this citywide race.
Crime is a key focus for Smith, who was treasurer of the Take KC Back campaign in 2021 to recall eight council members and the mayor after a judge ruled that they violated Missouri law by withholding $42 million from the police budget. However, O’Neill was not one of them.
Before serving on city council, O’Neil spent 30 years as the publisher of the Labor Beacon. He garnered three times more votes than Smith in the April primary.
2nd District at large
Neither Lindsay French nor Jenay Manley has run for office before, but both have been politically active.
Manley is one of the organizers of KC Tenants, the citywide tenant union that has been influential at City Hall on affordable housing issues. She was active in the protests to stop evictions during the pandemic, and housing is at the forefront of her campaign.
French is a graphic designer who has been active in political campaigns and has amassed a slew of endorsements, including from former Northland city councilmen John Fairfield, Ed Ford and Scott Wagner, who is her campaign treasurer.
3rd District at large
Incumbent Brandon Ellington, a former Missouri state representative, is facing a challenging opponent in Melissa Patterson Hazley.
Patterson Hazley garnered more votes than Ellington in the April primary and outspent him. She has collected endorsements from interest groups ranging from big corporate donors to powerful trades and construction unions, the Fraternal Order of Police and the Black political club Freedom Inc.
Behind the scenes, Patterson Hazley has run numerous campaigns for candidates and successful ballot issues, most notably the one to pass the Central City Economic Development sales tax. She then went on to chair the board for that tax, recommending how money should be spent on East Side development. She has a doctorate in educational psychology.
Ellington’s financial support and endorsements are almost entirely grass-roots and fewer, with the exception of the political action committees representing fire fighters union Local 42 and the engineering firm Burns & McDonnell. He takes pride in his independence and describes himself as a “full-time revolutionary” fighting for his community.
One reason so many powerful interests may be lined up against Ellington is his reputation as someone who often casts the lone no vote on issues before the council — especially for things that don’t have some benefit for the predominantly Black neighborhoods on Kansas City’s East Side, where both he and Patterson Hazley grew up.
Ellington is especially proud of his leadership on creating an Office of Citizen Engagement that helps people get connected with city services.
4th District at large
Crispin Rea and Justin Short are running to replace Katheryn Shields, who could not seek re-election due to term limits.
Rea won a seat on the Kansas City school board when he was 24, pulled out of a city council race in 2014 and now is a special victims unit prosecutor with the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Short is a member of the city’s LGBTQ Commission and is originally from the Northland, where his dad, Michael Short, was formerly a Platte County commissioner. He was formerly a cruise director for a cruise ship line and now manages the building he lives in downtown.
5th District at large
Darrell Curls and Michael Kelley are running to replace Lee Barnes after coming in neck and neck in the April primary.
Curls is a former Hickman Mills school board president who is on the board of directors of the Black political club Freedom Inc.
Kelley is the policy director at BikeWalkKC. He worked to pass the ordinance that forces planners to consider more than cars in street design, advocated for more public restrooms to help the homeless and is on the Kansas City Environmental Management Commission.
6th District at large
Incumbent Andrea Bough is running against Jill Sasse to keep her seat on the council.
Bough, a development lawyer, has a bushel full of endorsements and has spent the last four years getting accolades for her progressive stances on affordable housing policy and other issues.
Former public school teacher Jill Sasse has made public safety and policing a focus of her campaign along with the need for more affordable housing and her desire to reduce government spending.
1st District
Teacher Nathan Willett and former Clay County Democratic Party chairman Chris Gahagan are running to replace Heather Hall, who could not seek re-election due to term limits.
2nd District
Former state Rep. Wes Rogers ran unopposed to replace incumbent Dan Fowler, who is term limited.
3rd District
Incumbent Melissa Robinson is running against Sheri Hall to keep her seat on the council.
Robinson has focused her campaign on issues she has advocated for while on the council, like the need affordable housing and improving public services like trash collection and blight removal. Her background is in the social service sector, and she used to be the board chair for Kansas City Public Schools.
Hall is a poet, artist and mental health advocate who works with nonprofits to improve the lives of people in the 3rd District where she grew up.
4th District
Incumbent Eric Bunch is running against Henry Rizzo to keep his seat on the council.
Bunch is transit advocate and co-founder of the group BikeWalk KC who has supported things like zero fare buses and advocated for affordable housing while on the council.
Rizzo formerly served on the state and Jackson County legislatures and is the head of the Old Northeast Democratic Club.
5th District
Incumbent Ryana Parks-Shaw is running unopposed for another four-year term.
6th District
Dan Tarwater and Jonathan Duncan are running to fill the 6th District seat.
Tarwater is a right-leaning Democrat and former Jackson County legislator. He has support from labor, the police and fire unions, Freedom Inc. and other groups.
Duncan is an administrator at the Veterans of Foreign Wars and a leader in the KC Tenants organization. He describes himself as progressive, and his campaign focuses on improving housing conditions and affordability in Kansas City.
The Star’s Mike Hendricks, Kynala Phillips and Allison Dikanovic contributed reporting.
If you have any trouble voting, you can also reach out to The Star at kcq@kcstar.com.
