KANSAS CITY, MO — Gayle Hill is a long-time Kansas City, Missouri, resident. She remembers turning 18 years old, registering to vote and never missing an election.
Voting is a core value for her family, who knows the price that was paid to win the right to vote.
"My grandparents and my great grandparents reminded me how our people fought for the right to vote," Hill said.
After hearing news that some mail-processing machines and mailboxes have been removed from U.S. Postal Service facilities, including four that were removed in KCMO, Hill is upset and concerned that her vote may not be counted.
"Since the voting process and the mail is being sabotaged, I suggest we extend the time to count the vote," she said. "I don't understand why that is so difficult."
Johnson County Election Board Commissioner Connie Schmidt said delaying the date is not an option, so her recommendation to act now by requesting a mail-in ballot early and mailing it early.
"If they wait until the day before election day to put it in the mail, it still might not get to us until after Friday, which is the last day we can receive them — (the) Friday after election day," Schmidt said.
Missouri voters must have their mail-in ballots received by 7pm on Election Day to be counted.
Schmidt also suggested that voters avoid the post office and take their ballots to the ballot boxes outside election offices.
She said voting in-person is another way to make sure your vote counts, but that is only an option in Kansas. Missouri does not allow advance voting.
Hard-copy ballots are checked and electronic votes are stored on a flash drive and confirmed at the election office in Kansas.
Schmidt also explained that voters can check to determine if their ballot was received by looking at the Voter View on the Kansas Secretary of State's website. Voters also can contact their local election office to check to see if your ballot was received.
Hill said she remains undecided how she'll cast her ballot for the Nov. 3 general election.
"I think I'll go down to the election board," she said. "That's plan A. Plan B is mail-in and talking to all my friends and family and making sure all the people I know are registered to vote."
Hill hopes all the confusion and distractions over voting will not hurt voter turnout.
"I don't think people are going to give up," she said. :I believe people like me know how important this is, and it's even more important because they're trying to suppress our vote."
She's optimistic the mantra of "one person, one vote" will prevail.
—
41 Action News is committed to providing comprehensive information on the 2020 primary and general elections with an emphasis on several key issues — the economy, the COVID-19 pandemic and race relations. Count on us to provide news and information to help you make an informed choice at the polls.