Early voting is well underway in Kansas City, and turnout is already looking to outpace the last midterms. But this year’s ballots can be overwhelming.
KCUR’s new series “What’s the Deal, KC?” is answering your most pressing questions about the midterm elections, so you can feel ready to hit the polls.
This week, we’re taking your last-minute questions about the races, ballot items and candidates in Missouri and Kansas. Text us between now and Nov. 3 at 816-601-4777.
Here are some of the most common questions KCUR got last week. Find some of our previous answers here and here.
Q: What’s up with the Clay County question on my ballot?
Clay County’s Proposition A — not to be confused with Missouri Proposition A that addresses the congressional maps — asks voters to weigh in on a number of changes to the county constitution.
If approved, the changes would give the full County Commission more authority over appointments and special meetings. It would also adjust the salaries and benefits of some county officials, expand the county administrator's authority and change how members are appointed to the Redistricting and Constitution Review Commission.
The proposal would also require the county to hold a general election even when only one candidate has filed for office.
Clay County voters are being asked to approve all the changes together, rather than vote on each one separately. The proposal comes from the county’s Constitution Review Commission.
Q: Why was Missouri’s 2025 congressional map allowed to be used for the August primary?
This question leads back to months of litigation. Here’s the skinny:
Missouri used the Republican-drawn 2025 congressional map for its August 4 primary after state officials initially rejected a petition seeking to put the map before voters.
The Missouri Supreme Court later ruled that the petition was valid and that the map should have been suspended until voters could decide its fate. The court said the 2025 map was never legally in effect, even though it had already been used in the primary.
After the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that decision multiple times, Missouri officials went forward with using the 2022 congressional map for the general election on Nov. 3. Voters will decide whether to approve the newer map through Proposition A on the ballot.
Q: Will the results of Missouri’s election be litigated in court, because of the back and forth over the maps?
Republican candidates have argued that using the 2022 maps in the general election disenfranchises primary voters, who cast their ballots based on the 2025 maps.
A lawsuit to that effect, brought by candidates including U.S. Rep. Bob Onder and state Sen. Rick Brattin, was one of several litigated in September’s back-and-forth over redistricting.
However, the decision to use the 2022 map in November, and put the 2025 map to a statewide vote under Proposition A, was made separately by both the Missouri Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court.
That said, candidates may well sue again once the dust settles on election results, if they can make a strong enough argument.
Speaking at KCUR’s “Politics & Pints” live event on Monday, University of Missouri-Kansas City law professor Allen Rostron said that the closer a race is, and the more abrupt those results feel – for example, if a wave of mail-in ballots change the preliminary results – the more likely candidates are to challenge it in court.
Q: Why did Missouri allow a two-topic question on the ballot in Amendment 3?
Missouri Amendment 3 would restrict abortion access and prohibit gender-affirming care for minors. Here is the full ballot language:
“Shall the Missouri Constitution be amended to:
- Repeal the 2024 voter-approved Amendment providing reproductive healthcare rights, including abortion through fetal viability;
- Allow abortions for rape and incest (under twelve-weeks’ gestation), emergencies and fetal anomalies;
- Allow legislation regulating abortion;
- Ensure parental consent for minors’ abortions;
- Prohibit gender transition procedures for minors?
State governmental entities estimate no costs or savings. Greene County estimates it may experience an unknown increase in tax revenue. Other local governmental entities estimate no costs or savings.”
Transgender health care for minors is already restricted under Missouri law. However, polling shows that banning hormone therapy and medications and gender-transition surgeries for minors tends to be more popular in Missouri than abortion restrictions are.
Missouri’s constitutional rules for ballot measures require that amendments only cover a single subject.
Amendment 3’s opponents argue that the measure covers two separate subjects and should not be allowed. Critics have called the transgender health care ban "ballot candy."
Supporters say both issues fall under the same goal of protecting children by legislating reproductive healthcare.
A lawsuit sought to keep Amendment 3 off the ballot for this reason. However, an appeals court ruled last year that the subjects were sufficiently related to each other because they both have to do with reproductive health and fertility.
The court allowed the amendment to remain on the ballot — although after getting a rewrite to clarify the ballot language. In the same lawsuit, Cole County Judge Daniel Green ordered Secretary of State Denny Hoskins to rewrite the ballot summary because it “fails to alert voters that a constitutional amendment will be repealed by a new amendment’s passage.”
In other words, the judge ordered Amendment 3 to be rewritten so it’s clear that voting “yes” would reverse the 2024 vote that repealed the state abortion ban.
Q: Will the Johnson County election office use the Save Act database to thin or compare voter rolls?
Kansas law requires the Secretary of State’s Office to compare the state’s voter registration database against the federal Safeguard American Voter Eligibility database, which checks registrations against U.S. Citizenship and Immigration data twice a year.
The law, enacted in April 2026, requires Kansas to send potential matches to county election officials for review. County officials must notify voters before canceling their registrations and verify citizenship before removing anyone confirmed to be ineligible.
KCUR has contacted Johnson County election officials and the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office to learn whether the county has received flagged records, how many voters may be affected and whether any registrations have been changed or cancelled throughout the process.
We have not heard back by the time of publication.
Q: After voting early, how long does it typically take to register as having cast my vote? Where do I go to track that status?
The Kansas Secretary of State website says voters can track their advance-voting-by-mail status online at VoteKansas.gov, but the timing depends on whether someone voted in person or by mail.
The Kansas Secretary of State says in-person voting history is not updated immediately. County election officials update that information after the election has been canvassed and certified, which can take weeks.
Mail-in ballots, on the other hand, can be tracked online as they move through the process. Some counties offer additional tracking. In Douglas County, County Clerk Jamie Shew said voters can use the county’s ballot tracker to verify their in-person vote as early as the following day.
For Missouri voters, you can use the Secretary of State’s Military and Overseas Voting Access Portal to track your ballot if you are military service member or their family, or a voter currently overseas.
Q: What options are available for voters with disabilities who have trouble receiving or returning an advance ballot?
Shew advises voters who have not received an advance ballot to contact their local election office as soon as possible. Voters with disabilities can also request help voting. Read more about accommodations offered here.
Kansas election officials in Douglas County provide curbside voting for people who have difficulty entering a polling place. Additionally, Shew said, in local cases, the county can send a bipartisan team to deliver a replacement ballot to someone who cannot easily travel to the election office.
Other counties in Kansas have similar accommodations. In Finney, Ford, Grant, Haskell and Seward —all counties with large non-English speaking populations — alternative language assistance is provided at the polls.
In Missouri, available services depend on the local election authority. Accommodations include curbside voting and bipartisan assistance in the voting booth. Find more information on Missouri accessibility here.
The Kansas City Election Board offers curbside voting and homebound voting, while the Clay County Election Board also offers curbside voting for people with limited mobility.
What's the deal, KC? Text KCUR your questions about the Nov. 3 election.
KCUR's new series is answering your most pressing questions about Kansas City's biggest issues. Voting is underway in Missouri and Kansas! What are your last-minute questions about the candidates, amendments and other races on your ballot? Text KCUR at 816-601-4777.
