WICHITA, Kan. (KSNW) – Long lines at polling locations Monday could be a sign of what’s to come. Overall in Kansas, early voting is more popular this election.
“It’s like this every big election here at the courthouse on the final day of early voting,” said Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater. “You know, we’ve been open for two weeks, and we’ve had long lines every day.”
“We see that across the board, we’ve had higher voter turnout this year,” said Dr. Alexandra Middlewood, WSU Political Science Department Chair. “We’ve broken records across the state.”
More voters are getting a vote in early this year, according to Middlewood.
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“That voter turnout early typically favors Democrats because Democrats are much more likely to feel comfortable voting early,” Middlewood said.
In the past, Republicans have tended to wait until election day to vote. That’s not the case this year.
“This year, we are seeing kind of a shift in the messaging of the Republican party telling people, their supporters, that it’s OK to vote early,” Middlewood said.