KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Kansas voters arrived to the polls in full force for Tuesday's primary election to decide the future of abortion in the state.
Voters ultimately voted to reject Amendment 2, protecting the right to abortion in the state constitution.
INTERACTIVE MAP:
Results in Kansas indicate an estimate of 908,745 voters in the state took to the polls, according to a spokesperson for the Kansas Secretary of State. 59% voted no on the amendment.
"Voter turnout exceeded the Secretary of State's prediction," the spokesperson said in a statement.
This number far surpasses past primary elections in the state. In the 2020 primaries, 636,032 voters cast a ballot. In 2018, nearly half the number of Kansans voted in the primary elections than in 2022, with 457,598 votes cast.
Unofficial final results in Johnson County, Kansas, show that 244,818 people, or 53.65% of registered voters, took to the polls. That's a 39.58% increase in voter turnout from the August 2021 primary elections. When it comes to Amendment 2 in the county, 68% voted no, while 32% voted yes.
Meanwhile, Wyandotte County is reporting a voter turnout of 34.6%, up 20.24% from the 2021 primaries. 22,767 of the total 31,521 ballots cast in Wyandotte County, or 75% of voters, opposed Amendment 2.
“The amendment question is probably driving a lot of it. On June 24 when Roe v Wade came out with the announcement, that following day we had little over 150 new applications and every day since then, it would average at least over 100 so it's been pretty busy since that announcement,” Michael Abbott, Election Commissioner of Wyandotte County told KSHB 41 News.
59% of voters rejected the amendment in Leavenworth County, with 41% in favor.
Unofficial final results in Miami County shows a 15.43% increase in voter turnout at the primaries from the 2020 August primaries, reaching 47.23% of voters participating in Tuesday's election. By a narrow margin of 52%, the majority of Miami County voters opposed the amendment that would remove the guaranteed right to abortion in the state of Kansas.
The majority of Franklin County voters also voted no on the amendment, with 56% in opposition. 8,843 of the county's 19,507 registered voters weighed in. In 2020, 5,666 voters cast a vote in the primary elections.
However, 59.03% of voters in Linn County supported Amendment Two. 3,137 voters of the total 7,218 voters in Linn County exercised their right to vote, 2,354 of which are registered Republicans.
Roughly 15% of Kansas voters who supported former President Trump’s reelection bid in 2020 bucked party lines to vote against Amendment 2 on Tuesday, according to KSHB 41’s analysis of election results.
Voters in all 106 counties in Kansas were more likely to vote against Amendment 2 than supported Trump, but that trend was more pronounced in a handful of counties.
There were 13 counties in Kansas, which turned out heavily for Trump two years ago, but were much closer to toss ups when it came time to vote on Amendment 2.
That includes three counties— Greenwood, Osage and Franklin counties — in which Trump garnered at least 68% of the vote in 2020 but that voted down Amendment 2 on Tuesday.
Biggest % difference Trump vote vs. “yes” on Amendment 2
| % voted "yes" | % voted for Trump | % difference | |
| Greenwood County | 49.8% | 79.4% | -29.6% |
| Osage County | 43.6% | 71.0% | -27.4% |
| Elk County | 56.5% | 83.8% | -27.3% |
| Russell County | 54.7% | 80.5% | -25.8% |
| Hamilton County | 55.6% | 81.3% | -25.7% |
| Lane County | 60.0% | 85.1% | -25.1% |
| Greeley County | 60.7% | 85.7% | -25.0% |
| Harper County | 56.8% | 81.0% | -24.2% |
| Franklin County | 44.1% | 68.0% | -23.9% |
| Chase County | 51.8% | 75.3% | -23.5% |
| Coffey County | 52.9% | 76.4% | -23.5% |
| Decatur County | 60.7% | 84.1% | -23.4% |
| Morris County | 50.2% | 73.3% | -23.1% |
