WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Some people are questioning a Kansas law that allows the secretary of state to appoint election commissioners in the state’s most-populated counties.
The questions come after Secretary of State Scott Schwab fired Sedgwick County’s election commissioner for accessing a voter database when working from home while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Critics question why voters can’t choose the person who oversees elections in Sedgwick, Shawnee, Johnson and Wyandotte counties just as they do in 101 other counties in the state.
Schwab’s spokeswoman Katie Koupal said the current system “maintains the delicate balance of protecting local election officials from potential conflicts of interest while also holding them accountable” to county leaders who set their budgets.
