The ACLU of Kansas is now suing Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker to gain access to lists of 900 voters who filed provisional ballots and about 150 voters whose advance ballots were not counted in the August primary. It’s the latest in an ongoing saga over the controversial Johnson County primary, which involved a serious delay in vote counting and a technical glitch in the county’s new, $10.5 million voting machines. The lawsuit is filed on behalf of Davis Hammet, president of Loud Light, a nonprofit working to increase voter turnout. He’s suing after being denied access to the lists, but more than that, he said, he’s concerned there are bigger issues in the county.
“Last election, they said the machines were too old and that’s why they crashed and had problems, and now the machines are too new and that’s why they crashed and had problems,” Hammet said. “There’s just a real issue in Johnson County with election administration.”
With the GOP primary for governor decided by a couple hundred votes, ACLU spokesperson Mark McCormick said taking a look at the votes could be important.
“The context of how this happened is one thing, but what we’re really fighting for is the idea of transparency,” McCormick said. “This information ought to be available, and we’re arguing the law says this information should be made available.”
Full Article: Johnson County Primary Voting Saga Continues As ACLU Sues County Election Commissioner | KCUR.