The referendum in the conservative state was the first test of U.S. Voters in the majority GOP state rejected by almost a 20-point margin a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution that would have added language stating that it does not grant the right to abortion.Ī 2019 state Supreme Court decision declared that access to abortion is a 'fundamental' right under the state's Bill of Rights, preventing a ban and potentially thwarting legislative efforts to enact new restrictions. Kansas residents voted to protect the right to get an abortion in their state, rejecting a measure that would have allowed their Republican-controlled Legislature to tighten abortion restrictions or ban it outright. 'This is almost like doing an Ironman triathlon and having to add on another marathon at the end,' said Fred Sherman, the county´s Election Commissioner. The sorting process took so long that the actual counting didn't begin until Thursday afternoon. It pulled in workers from different departments to help. Johnson County, the most populous in Kansas, faced the biggest recounting challenge because it had the most ballots. Linda Buttron, the county clerk, blamed the change on things like ovals not being darkened and 'the challenges of hand counting ballots' In Jefferson County, the margin remained the same, with the pro- and anti-amendment totals declining by four votes each. But she noted: 'You have to factor in human error.' County Clerk and Election Officer Tammy Vopat said she wasn't sure the reason. In Lyon County, the anti-amendment group lost a vote. Linda Buttron, the county clerk, blamed the change on things like ovals not being darkened and 'the challenges of hand counting ballots.' Abortion opponents lost all of those counties except Thomas.
Votes were recounted in Douglas County, home to the University of Kansas´ main campus Johnson County, in suburban Kansas City Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, Shawnee County, home to Topeka and Crawford, Harvey, Jefferson, Lyon and Thomas counties. Gietzen, who leads a small GOP group, the Kansas Republican Assembly, argues that he's not campaigning for the anti-abortion measure but is instead promoting election integrity. He said he won't publicly report the names of private donors helping him finance the recount, even though a state ethics official says it's required. Gietzen also said he is getting donations from a network built over three decades in the anti-abortion movement
Gietzen said he plans to file a lawsuit Monday seeking a full statewide recall. He said he's also concerned about the results statewide because of a report out of Cherokee county in southeast Kansas about the results of one county election being transposed between two candidates when the results were transferred on a thumb drive from one voting machine to a tabulating machine. I won't pay for Sedgwick County,' he said. 'We still don't know what happened in Sedgwick County. Gietzen said Sunday he doesn't accept the results of the Sedgwick County recount because of the discrepancy about the way the ballots were sorted and because some of the recount happened Saturday without outside observers present to watch. Gietzen also said he is getting donations from a network built over three decades in the anti-abortion movement. Leavitt and Gietzen provided credit cards to pay for the nearly $120,000 cost, according to the secretary of state's office. The counties pay only if the outcome changes. Kansas law requires a recount if those who ask for it prove they can cover the counties´ costs.
A wave of candidates who have echoed former President Donald Trump´s lie that the 2020 election was rigged have called for recounts after losing their own Republican primaries. Recounts increasingly are tools to encourage supporters of a candidate or cause to believe an election was stolen rather than lost. Gietzen, of Wichita, and Leavitt, of Colby, in far northwestern Kansas, have both suggested there might have been problems without pointing to many examples. She said the number of votes cast overall didn't change. Gietzen, seen here with former President Donald Trump, acknowledged in an interview that it was unlikely to change the outcome but has repeatedly claimed it was worth the costĮight of the counties reported their results by the state's Saturday deadline, but Sedgwick County delayed releasing its final count until Sunday because spokeswoman Nicole Gibbs said some of the ballots weren't separated into the correct precincts during the initial recount and had to be resorted Saturday.