KSHB 41 reporter Olivia Acree covers portions of Johnson County, Kansas. Share your story idea with Olivia.
—
With record voter turnout already in early voting, it’ll take thousands of volunteers to keep Johnson County, Kansas, polling places running smoothly and safely on Election Day.
An election worker is there to guide voters from the moment they enter the doors until they leave with their sticker. That’s why Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said elections couldn’t happen without them.
“We could not conduct elections in this county or any jurisdiction without the volunteers and good service of true election worker heroes,” Sherman said.
Johnson County will have upwards of 2,000 volunteers working on Tuesday.
The county didn’t struggle to meet the number they needed. But in Kansas City, Missouri, election officials told KSHB 41 last month their story was different.
“Our goal is 1,300,” said KCMO Election Director Shawn Kieffer. “We're very close to our goal.”
One reason it’s been hard to hire is safety concerns. A Brennan Center survey found that 68% of election workers and officials had experienced threats in 2024.
Sherman said in Johnson County, they take safety seriously.
“We have a lot of protocols put into place in regard to safety and aspects if there is an emergency situation,” Sherman said.
However, the county said the only thing that's changed is the number of eyes on the election.
“There obviously is a lot more scrutiny in terms of the overall elections than it was, say, 10 or 20 years ago,” Sherman said.
Jeff Nolte is an election worker whose “scrutiny” led him to the job.
“Lot of talk through the years about election interference and things like that, and I just wanted to make sure that I'd be part of the process and see how it ran,” Nolte said.
That was in 2020. He’s worked elections ever since.
“I realized that, you know, it's extremely up and up and lots of checks and balances,” Nolte said.
As voting continues, Sherman wants to remind people to be grateful for the thousands of workers who help make your vote count.
“The main focus is to service the voters so the voters have a good, positive experience in casting their ballot, either during advanced voting or on Election Day,” Sherman said.