How to vote early — and other answers to election questions — for Wichita mayor primary

Wichita voters will narrow a field of nine mayoral candidates to two on Aug. 1.

But you don’t need to wait until Election Day to vote.

You can get and cast a mail ballot now. Early voting in person starts Monday at the Sedgwick County Election Office downtown and widens to satellite sites on July 27.

Here’s what you need to know to participate in city and school primary elections in Sedgwick County.

What’s on the ballot?

The Wichita mayor’s race is the main contest in the Wichita area. Running against incumbent mayor Brandon Whipple are Jared Cerullo, Shelia M. Davis, Bryan Frye, Anthony Gallardo, Tom Kane, Celeste Racette, Julie Rose Stroud and Lily Wu.

The top two candidates in the primary will compete in a runoff election on Nov. 7.

A City Council position is also on the primary ballot with four candidates running for the District 4 seat in southwest Wichita.

Primary voters in the Wichita school district can narrow a field of five candidates for an at-large position on the school board. Similarly, 13 candidates are running in the primary for the at-large position on Cheney’s school board.

Park City’s voters will decide whether to increase the sales tax by 1%.

Voting in small races like this year’s primary is perhaps even more important than voting in big elections, said Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Laura Rainwater.

“At the local level, elections are the foundation of our government. Without our elections, we would not have the type of representative government that we have today,” she said. “... These are some of the most important elections that will have an effect on your daily life.”

To learn more about the candidates, go to our primary voter guide at kansas.com/election beginning July 17.

Who’s running for mayor in Wichita? Here’s an up-to-date list of candidates

Wichita school board will have at least two new faces after 2023 election. Who’s running?

Who’s running for Wichita City Council in 2023? Meet the 10 candidates

What do I need to vote?

You must be registered to vote and you must show your Kansas driver’s license or a valid Kansas photo ID. For a list of accepted forms of ID, visit the Kansas secretary of state’s website.

How do I vote early by mail?

A request form for advance voting ballots can be found on sedgwickcounty.org.

“So far to date, we’ve received approximately 8,500 advanced by mail ballot applications,” Rainwater said at a media conference on July 10.

The deadline for requesting an advance mail-in ballot is Tuesday, July 25.

Ballots can be returned in a number of ways.

You can hand deliver your ballot to the Sedgwick County Election Office, 510 N. Main, Suite 101, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday, July 17 through noon Monday, July 31. Advance ballots can also be dropped off at a polling place on Election Day.

You can take your advance ballot to one of Sedgwick County’s 14 designated drop boxes 24/7. The locations for the drop boxes can be found on sedgwickcounty.org. These boxes close at 7 p.m. on Election Day.

To mail in your advance ballot, you can send it to the Sedgwick County Election Office. Ballots must be postmarked before the polls close on Election Day and received in the office by Friday, Aug. 4.

“The United States Postal Service (USPS) has recommended mailing your ballot at least one week before it needs to arrive” sedgwickcounty.org reads.

How do I vote early in person?

You can vote in person at the Sedgwick County Election Office from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays starting Monday, July 17. Early voting at that office ends at noon Monday, July 31.

A number of satellite centers will be open for early voters starting Thursday, July 27. The hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.

What are the satellite locations?

A full list of satellite locations can be found on sedgwickcounty.org. The July 27-29 early voting locations are:

Bel Aire City Building, 7651 E. Central Park, Bel Aire (67226)

Grace Presbyterian Church, 5002 E. Douglas, Wichita (67208)

Machinists Building, 3830 S. Meridian, Wichita (67217)

Mount Vernon Methodist Church, 5701 E. Mount Vernon, Wichita (67218)

Park City City Hall, 1941 E. 61^st St. N., Park City (67219)

Progressive Missionary Baptist Church, 2727 E. 25^th St. North, Wichita (67219)

Reformation Lutheran, 7601 E. 13^th St., Wichita (67206)

Sedgwick County Extension Office, 7001 W. 21^st St., Wichita (67205)

St. Andrew’s Lutheran, 2555 Hyacinth Lane, Wichita (67204)

Westlink Church of Christ, 10025 W. Central, Wichita (67212)

Woodland Lakes Community Church, 770 S. Greenwich Road, Wichita (67207)

How do I vote on Election Day?

If you want to vote on Aug. 1, you will need to go to your designated polling site. If you don’t know where that is, you can find out using the Kansas secretary of state’s VoterView at myvoteinfo.voteks.org. You can also check your voter card or call the Election Office at 316-660-7100.

Polling locations are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Election Day.

How will election centers be staffed?

Last year’s August elections saw record voter turnout, along with long lines and issues at polling places. Though last year’s vote drew a turnout rate of 43% with the statewide abortion amendment on the ballot, Rainwater said she expects a turnout rate closer to 10% this August for the local elections.

“The polls were very busy last primary, and we did see a huge number of registrations last year,” she said. “This year is nothing like last year. I hope those that registered last year will continue to be engaged and continue to vote.”

This year, Rainwater said, they have more polling volunteers and fewer polling locations.

“This time last year … we had 83 polling sites and 495 polling workers. This year, we have 62 polling sites open because not everybody is having a primary, and we have over 530 election workers already signed up,” she said. “We are fully staffed at all of our sites and we have a pool of election workers to send out in case we have some no-shows on Election Day, so it’s looking really good.”

Even so, Rainwater suggested voters take advantage of early voting to avoid possible complications on Election Day.

“Early voting is so simple and so easy,” she said. “On election day, you can only vote in your precinct, your assigned polling place, so if you’re in the wrong polling site, you’re going to have to vote provisionally or travel to your assigned polling site, so early voting really is the way to go.”

What if I’ve never voted before?

Rainwater urged younger and potential new voters to get involved with this year’s election and “not to be scared of the process.” Since this local election is markedly smaller than next year’s presidential election, Rainwater said this is a perfect time to start voting.

“You’ll have one, maybe two, at most three questions on your ballot,” Rainwater said. “It will literally take you less than two minutes to cast your vote.”

Though the deadline for registration has passed for the primary election, there’s still time to register before Election Day in November. Sedgwick County registration reopens on Aug. 30 and closes on Oct. 17 for the general election.

Rainwater called the registration process “very easy” for young voters. To find out how you can register to vote, visit sedgwickcounty.org/elections.

What if I have questions?

For more information on how to vote, contact the Sedgwick County Election Office at 316-660-7100.