Election results won’t be known Nov. 5
Staff writer
Marion County residents won’t know who won the county attorney seat until 10 days after the election.
Two write-in candidates filed affidavits of candidacy after County Attorney Joel Ensey declined to file for re-election.
This year, write-in votes for anyone who doesn’t file an affidavit of write-in candidacy won’t be counted.
Only votes for Republican Michelle Brown and Libertarian David Graham will count.
A total number of write-in votes will be available on election night, but it will not be broken down by name.
“We won’t have that information tallied up yet,” county clerk Ashley Herpich said.
Delays in counting votes, as happened during the primary election, should not happen this time, she said. Settings on ballot counting machines have been corrected, and the clerk’s office now has a policy to double check settings before votes are counted.
Republican Michelle Brown, already serving as assistant Morris County attorney, would commute to Marion County and split time with Morris County.
Brown lives in Douglas County where she and her spouse operate an animal sanctuary.
District Administrative Judge Ben Sexton asked her whether he could appoint her Marion County attorney if nobody ran.
She decided to run as a write-in.
Besides being a write-in candidate in Marion County, Brown is on the ballot for Morris County attorney.
Libertarian David Graham of Overland Park, a write-in candidate for Marion County, also is on the ballot for Morris County.
Graham said he’d given thought to how to make the combination work.
He would have duties in Morris County but said he would put Marion County first.
“I plan on focusing on Marion County,” he said. “Regardless, I am going to move to Marion County.”
He has tentatively found a house south of Marion that he will lease if he wins.
“As it is now, I plan on being in Marion County Monday through Friday,” he said.
Although he would have to spend time in Morris County, he hasn’t made solid plans how much time Morris County would need.
A 1991 municipal court conviction in Kansas City resulted in a public censure of Graham.
He had been arrested during an abortion demonstration during which he allegedly supervised chaining anti-abortion protesters to clinic property and placement of barrels filled with concrete against the doors of an abortion clinic to barricade it.
After he was arrested, he refused to give his name and address to the arresting officer.
“It was 30 years ago and it had nothing to do with my representation of clients,” Graham said.
Early voting at the courthouse will be:
- From 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. now through Friday
- 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday.
- 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Oct. 28 to Nov. 1.
- 8:30 a.m. until noon Nov. 4.
Nov. 5 polling locations will be:
- Burns — 301 N. Washington St.
- Florence — 410 Main St.
- Goessel — city building.
- Hillsboro — United Methodist Church, 905 E. D St.
- Lincolnville — community center.
- Marion — Eastmoor United Methodist Church.
- Peabody — senior center.
- Tampa — senior center.