Johnson County will cut eight early voting locations ahead of the August primary election and through the November election, flagging serious concerns about voter access across the region.
The eliminated advance voting locations account for roughly one-fifth of the total early votes in Johnson County in the 2024 General Election – representing 19% of all early votes countywide.
County Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt says the decision behind closing the polls came after reviewing turnout data from 2016 to 2025.
“Part of our decision was where the voters live,” Schmidt said. “[More than] 80% of the voters in the 2024 election voted at these ten, top sites we kept.”
The closed early voting locations include:
- Central Resource Library, 9875 W. 87th St., Overland Park, KS
- Johnson County Community College’s Midwest Trust Center, 12345 College Blvd., Overland Park, KS
- Johnson County Sunset Offices, 11811 Sunset Drive, Olathe, KS
- Leawood City Hall, 4800 Town Center Drive, Leawood, KS
- Olathe Downtown Library, 260 E. Santa Fe St., Olathe, KS
- Oak Park Library, 9500 Bluejacket St., Overland Park, KS
- Tomahawk Ridge Community Center, 11902 Lowell Ave., Overland Park, KS
- Westwood City Hall, 4700 Rainbow Blvd., Westwood, KS
According to a statement from the Election Office, officials say that the 2026 Advance Voting Plan aims to maintain a predictable voting experience and create a more balanced countywide location network.
Accessibility efforts include adding drop boxes on all 16 Johnson County public libraries and standardizing voting hours across poll locations. The 2026 plan also adds two new polling places in Spring Hill and De Soto.
Five of the 12 early voting locations remain along existing public transit routes.
Why the decision is receiving pushback
Martha Lawrence, co-founder of Grassroots Movement Boots on the Ground Midwest, says the decision was made with no opportunity for public input. The community is concerned, she said, over the lack of transparency and accountability.
“(Connie Schmidt’s) responsibility and her job as election commissioner is to make it easier for people to vote, not harder for people to vote,” Lawrence said. “The locations that were closed are in high density, diverse areas.”
For example, the Olathe Downtown Library sits within one of the lowest income areas in the county, where roughly 23% of residents live below the poverty line and more than 22% identify as Black or Hispanic.
The Johnson County Community College Midwest Trust Center, Oak Park Library, and Central Resource Library border some of the county’s poorest Census tracts and serve communities along the Interstate Highway 35 corridor in northwest Overland Park.
“Those discussions should be transparent, data-driven, and open to the public,” said U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, a Kansas Democrat, in response to the cuts. “Instead, these changes appear to have moved quickly, with limited community input and without clear data shared publicly.”
Davids’ 3rd District includes the eliminated sites.
Boots on the Ground Midwest is circulating an online petition to protect the eight early voting polls. As of Wednesday afternoon, the petition had garnered more than 500 signatures.
While Schmidt says the decision is final, Lawrence plans to press for change before the November ballot.
“It’s only final if she says it’s final. And if she is truly the one that’s making that decision, she can reconsider it,” Lawrence said.
The remaining, in-person early voting locations for Johnson County are as follows:
- Johnson County Northeast Offices, 6000 Lamar Ave. #200, Mission, KS
- Arts and Heritage Center, 8788 Metcalf Ave., Overland Park, KS
- Hilltop Conference Center Blue Valley, 7700 W. 143rd St., Overland Park, KS
- Overland Park Arboretum Longhouse, 9209 W. 179th St., Bucyrus, KS
- Shawnee Library, 13811 Johnson Drive, Shawnee, KS
- Lenexa City Center Library, 8778 Penrose Lane, Lenexa, KS
- Johnson County Election Office, 2101 E. Kansas City Road, Olathe, KS
- Olathe Indian Creek Library, 16100 W. 135th St., Olathe, KS
- Spring Hill Civic Center, 401 N. Madison St., Spring Hill, KS
- Monticello Library, 22435 W. 66th St., Shawnee, KS
- New Century Fieldhouse, 551 New Century Parkway, New Century, KS
- De Soto Community Center, 32905 W. 84th St., De Soto, KS
In-person voters can cast ballots in advance from July 18 to Aug. 3 between 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. All locations will also be open the Monday before Election Day from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m.
All ballots must be cast by 7 p.m. on Aug. 4 to be counted.
