Wichitopekington

A potential ballot problem arose in the first hour of the first day of expanded advance voting in Sedgwick County today. But whether it affected other voters or was isolated confusion remains unclear.

Voter Merl Hollis, of West Wichita, said he went to vote at St. Andrews Lutheran Church at 2555 Hyacinth Ln this afternoon to find his neighbor was voting in the wrong precinct — a problem, if true, that would have had him voting in the wrong Senate district.

Hollis said precinct officials said their computers were down when he arrived around 1 p.m. today, just an hour after advance voting polls opened at sites around the county.  Hollis said his neighbor had been given a ballot for precinct 619 instead of the 613 ballot, which includes a contest between Republican Sen. Jean Schodorf and Wichita City Council member Michael O’Donnell.

State records show Hollis is registered in precinct 613 and eligible to vote in the Schodorf-O’Donnell race. Hollis said he talked with poll workers who advised him he could vote with a provisional ballot. But Hollis said he wasn’t comfortable with that because he’s heard they can be more easily disqualified or not counted at all.

The Schodorf-O’Donnell race is among the most hotly contested among several Republican versus Republican primary races this year, and both campaigns have alleged sign stealing and mud-slinging for weeks.

Hollis said he talked to two other voters who had cast ballots today who said they weren’t sure why they didn’t have a chance to vote in the Schodorf-O’Donnell senate primary. Hollis said he called Schodorf about the problem but hasn’t contacted the elections office yet.

“I’m concerned that there have been people wanting to vote either way (for either candidate), but they can’t,” he said.

Sedgwick County Election Commissioner Tabitha Lehman said her office is investigating the issue based on calls from a campaign and reporters. She said poll workers told her that the problem was isolated to two voters.

She said a couple came in while poll workers were having computer problems, so the workers asked the voters to cast provisional ballots. One voter thought he should be in precinct 619, but he was actually in 613. And a Democratic voter may have been given the incorrect ballot, Lehman said.

“There was a misunderstanding,” Lehman said.

Lehman said that the voters can vote at a machine at another location or on another day and that their provisional ballot would be disqualified. But she said the voters haven’t contacted her office, so it’s difficult to contact them to confirm what happened and how to resolve it.

“We’ll pursue it as best we can,” she said.