KSHB 41 reporter Lily O’Shea Becker covers Cass, Miami, Franklin and Douglas counties with an emphasis on Lawrence. If you have a question about your community or a story idea, send Lily a tip at lilyoshea.becker@kshb.com.
—
The Kansas City, Missouri, city council passed an ordinance on Thursday that protects election workers from aggressive behavior ahead of the upcoming primary elections and in future elections.
The vote comes after city officials, including Mayor Quinton Lucas, said they were concerned about an increase in reports of problems at polling sites in recent elections.
"The purpose of this ordinance is to regulate and punish acts of aggression, violence, threats of violence, interference, or intimidation, or acts of disorderly conduct that disrupt or interfere with the conducting of an election or an election worker in the discharge of an election worker’s official duties," the ordinance states.
Democratic director of the Kansas City Board of Elections Laurie Ealom said the passage of the ordinance was a huge exhale for her.
“I’ve been on this bandwagon, literally, since 2020," Ealom said.
That was the year she was threatened while working with voters during an election.
“I felt extremely violated, ‘cause I was just doing my job," Ealom said. "I was extremely unprepared."
Ealom said the ordinance is not about her, but emphasized it's about the main demographic of Kansas City's election workforce. About 80% of the city's election workforce is 76 years old, according to Ealom.
“Slurs, threats, threats to their families, they’re being doxxed in some ways. That is uncalled for," KCMO Mayor Quinton Lucas, who sponsored the bill, said Thursday. "Particularly because a lot of our election workers are senior citizens who are just saying they want to give their time to democracy.”
Council member Melissa Patterson Hazley co-sponsored the ordinance. Patterson Hazley has volunteered at every election over the last decade.
“I have seen more angst here in recent years than I have in the past," she said at the council's Finance Governance & Public Safety Committee meeting on Tuesday.
Ealom said some election workers have dropped out because they're somewhat afraid, which has partially contributed to a shortage in election workers.
“You don’t want to come and volunteer your time for a small stipend, a long day to be abused," she said.
Ealom said she hopes the ordinance will bring awareness to the new protections and that it's a preventative measure the city has taken.
The ordinance does not infringe on a voter's right to legally protected speech.
—