DeSoto resident Traci Gaultney has voted in every election over the last decade — in large part because it’s so easy to get to her polling place.
“It is close to our home,” Gaultney said. “It definitely makes us more likely to vote because it’s convenient — either close to work or close to home.”
Gaultney is lucky, as many other voters in the Kansas City area may have noticed their polling place location has changed in recent years, which can make it more difficult to access the ballot box.
Get more information about voting in Missouri and in Kansas on the 2024 KC Voter Guide. And check out some FAQs about polling places below.
Why polling places are disappearing
Kansas City is far from the only city where voting places are being eliminated or changed around. Nationwide, the number of individual polling locations has been declining.
Some experts trace that trend back to a U.S. Supreme Court decision in 2013, which made it legal for local election offices to close polling places without federal approval.
The downward trend was only exacerbated by the 2020 pandemic. Stay-at-home orders forced many states to close in-person polling centers and embrace early voting or voting by mail while voting procedures got rearranged to accommodate social distancing, heightened cleaning regimes, and fewer poll workers.
Safety is a big concern. Since the 2020 election, the spread of conspiracy theories about voting — exacerbated by false claims of fraud — has led to more threats against election officials.
Over the following years, polling places never reopened in the same numbers.
In 2020, the Kansas City Election Board shrunk the number of polling places from about 180 down to 84. This year, there are just 78.
The Jackson County Election Board — which covers all of the county except for Kansas City — also cut its number of polling places over the years. Two decades ago, the JCEB had more than 200 locations, compared to only 103 for this year’s elections. And that’s one fewer than last year.
In Johnson County, polling locations have steadily decreased. About 10 years ago, the election authority maintained more than 200 polling places, down to about 140 this year.
The decrease in polling locations doesn’t mean fewer people are voting. In fact, just as many if not more residents are voting in each jurisdiction. Most polling locations have consolidated and gotten bigger.
In Johnson County, there are 580 voting precincts, so each of the 103 polling locations hosts multiple precincts and ballots. Johnson County election commissioner Fred Sherman said it’s like going to a Home Depot instead of a neighborhood hardware store: It’s not necessarily the choice that makes you feel good, but in this case, it gets the job done.
Plus, changing one voting location can inadvertently impact the surrounding ones.
“There are some locations where voters have been moved for Election Day assignments,” Sherman said. “When that occurs, sometimes it impacts voters at other adjacent or nearby polling locations, almost like a domino effect.”
Safety concerns at the polls
Part of the issue for election officials is a decrease in options.
In Missouri and Kansas, election authorities are generally allowed to make publicly funded buildings into polling places, like public schools, libraries and community centers. Private buildings can opt to be used as polling locations — but with rising safety concerns, that’s becoming increasingly rare.
Schools and churches have been popular polling sites because they’re accessible to people with disabilities, they already hold large numbers of visitors, and they’re easily recognizable to residents in their community.
Lauri Ealom, Democratic director of the Kansas City Election Board, said some of these formerly reliable polling locations have stopped offering their space.
“Historically, people or churches deemed it an honor to be a poll,” Ealom said. “But as the political climate has changed, and all of the active shooters, people are just more afraid. So we don’t have the option of countless amounts of churches.”
“If you went back to say, 20, 30 years ago, a lot of our sites were in public school facilities,” said Sherman about Johnson County’s polling places. “We are in very few public schools currently.”
Sara Zorich, Democratic director of the JCEB, says they try to work with schools to figure out workarounds, like making Election Day closed for learning or closing off the part of the building where voting occurs. But sometimes, the election board has to force a school district to participate because nowhere else nearby is available.
“We try very hard not to say, ‘You’re a tax-funded building, there is no choice. We have no other building,’” Zorich said. “We do look at other options and certainly will take suggestions. Most of them have been really good about trying to work with us.”
In Kansas City, the Election Board rarely used Kansas City Public Schools as polling places. But after 2020, when its usual locations dropped out, Ealom says that KCPS buildings “saved” the election.
The KCEB now uses seven public schools as polling places.
To deal with the decline in polling places, the Kansas City Election Board began using centralized voting, commonly known as “vote centers,” in 2020.
It’s a process where registered residents can vote using an electronic ballot marking device at any polling location in the city, regardless of the precinct they were assigned to. The device then prints out the filled ballot on a piece of paper that voters can check for accuracy, and then scan into the ballot box to be counted — just like a pre-printed paper ballot.
If a voter wants to use a pre-printed paper ballot, they have to go to their designated polling place.
But vote centers are far from common in the U.S. Even in states where it is allowed — including Kansas and Missouri — usage varies county by county.
In Missouri, vote centers are currently only used in Kansas City and St. Louis. But overall, centralized vote centers are mostly employed for early voting — not on Election Day itself.
Greg Woodhams, the voter education chair at The League of Women Voters Kansas City, says that some counties simply don’t have enough resources to operate voter centers on Election Day itself.
Because every election authority is different — including in how many polling places they operate and whether they offer centralized voting — it can be confusing to know how to cast your ballot. As part of the KC Voter Guide, we put together articles explaining the voting process in both Missouri and Kansas.
Here are some more FAQs for figuring out how to cast your vote this election:
Why did my polling place change?
Polling places change regularly due to availability, time of year and safety concerns. Many schools have stopped being polling places due to security concerns. Often, officials changing one polling location will cause a domino effect, forcing others to change as well.
Sometimes, a building will be closed off for construction. Or the building owners will ask not to be used anymore due to safety concerns - whether because of health concerns or election-related threats.
However, election officials say they try whenever possible to make sure voters maintain the same polling place for the whole year.
How do I find my polling place?
In Missouri, the Secretary of State’s office offers a voter information lookup tool that may list your polling place. You can also verify it with your local election authority.
In Kansas, you can find your polling place from the Secretary of State’s voter view website.
Find more information in:
Your local election authority may also send you a card in the mail with your polling place listed.
In Kansas City, Missouri, residents can vote electronically at any polling location in the city regardless of where they live. However, if you want to use a paper ballot, you must go to your designated polling location.
I live in Eastern Jackson County, can I also cast a ballot at any polling location in my city?
No. Centralized voting is available on election day only for registered voters within Kansas City, Missouri.
If you live in Jackson County but outside of KCMO — such as Independence, Lee’s Summit, Blue Springs, etc. — your election authority is the Jackson County Election Board, which assigns voters to specific polling locations.
If my polling place changes, will I be notified?
If you’ve been assigned to a new polling location for an upcoming election, your election authority will send you a voter information packet that includes the updated address. If that doesn’t arrive in time, you can also check your voter information online.
What if I show up to vote at the wrong polling place?
You may still be able to vote with a provisional ballot. If you accidentally show up at the wrong polling place or don’t have an acceptable ID, you can cast a provisional ballot in both Missouri and Kansas.
In Missouri, your provisional ballot will be counted if you return with proper ID on the same day, or if the election office decides the signature on your ballot matches the one on your registration.
In Kansas, your ballot counts if you return with an acceptable photo ID before the county canvass, which can be as early as the Monday after the election or as late as 13 days after.
Why isn’t my polling location within walking distance?
Election authorities try to ensure there is at least one polling location in every precinct. If your polling place isn’t in your neighborhood, it should be somewhere nearby.
If you plan to vote in person on election day and need help getting there, KCATA buses and the streetcar are always free. Kansas City’s rideshare app, Iris, offers a cheaper service than most other rideshares. Some rideshare apps, like Lyft, offer discounted rides to the polls during the general election, November 5.
I can’t make it to my polling place on Election Day. Where should I go instead?
If you aren’t in town on Election Day, or otherwise cannot make it to the polls, consider voting absentee or early.
In Missouri, you can vote absentee in-person during the two weeks before Election Day, or request to receive an absentee ballot by mail.
Kansas begins advanced voting in-person 20 days before Election Day, as well as advanced mail voting.
Kansas City residents in Jackson County who want to vote early can do so at the following locations:
- The Whole Person, 3710 Main St.
- United Believers Community Church, 5600 E. 112th Terr.
- The Mount Christian Worship Center, 1800 E. 79th St.
- Kansas City Election Board offices, 4407 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
Voters in Eastern Jackson County can vote on weekdays at the Jackson County Election Board’s Absentee Office at 110 N. Liberty St. in Independence, Missouri.
Clay County residents can vote early at one of the following locations:
- Annunciation Community Center, 705 N. Jefferson St.
- Gladstone Community Center, 6901 N. Holmes St.
The Johnson County Election Office has 18 early voting locations open Monday-Saturday. Voters can find a location that suits them based on which day of the week they plan to vote.
Voters in Wyandotte County can vote early at one of the following locations:
- Edwardsville City Hall Training Room: 670 S. 4th St.
- Eisenhower Recreation Center: 2801 N. 72nd St.
- Joe Amayo/Argentine Community Center: 2810 Metropolitan Ave.
- Patricia Diane Kane Community Center: 3130 N. 122nd St.
- Wyandotte County Election Office: 850 State Ave.
