(Updated to reflect Thomas and Wasinger declining comment and explanation how Thomas case could proceed)
Democrats are contesting two Kansas House races, one over questions about where the Republican candidate lived and another over malfunctioning voting machines.
Challenges were brought in court on Monday with a lawsuit filed in Johnson County contesting the election of Republican Adam Thomas in House District 26 and another in Ellis County challenging the election of Republican Barbara Wasinger in House District 111.
Thomas and Wasinger declined comment Tuesday afternoon.
Thomas won his race against Democrat Deann Mitchell despite facing charges of election fraud for allegedly misrepresenting where he lived when he filed to run for the Legislature. He won the race by more than 1,000 votes.
A state elections panel set aside a challenge to Thomas’ legal residency in Olathe last September.
Meanwhile out west, seven voters brought a challenge to Wasinger’s election, arguing that 12-year-old voting machines were not properly maintained and malfunctioned on Election Day. Wasinger edged Democratic incumbent Eber Phelps by 35 votes.
Represented in the case by state Rep. Vic Miller, the voters also contend that the county clerk did not store the machines in a guarded and climate-controlled location when they weren’t used.
Other allegations included in the Ellis County challenge:
- A recount of the District 111 election results was improperly conducted. The county clerk is accused of making her own decision about what provisional ballots should be counted and which ones shouldn’t. She then wouldn’t report what provisional ballots were counted and which ones weren’t according to the court filing. She also is accused of deciding not to count mail-in ballots that should have been counted and allowed some voters to withdraw their votes after they had been placed in the mail and received.
- The county election officer failed to print and prepare sufficient paper ballots, forcing voters to use the machines computers that were believed to malfunctioning and not properly maintained. “In many instances, voters were forced to either wait long times to be able to vote or abandon their place in line, some choosing to leave without being able to vote,” the court filing said
The Wasinger and Thomas cases could potentially end up decided in the Kansas House, lawyers said Tuesday.
In both cases, a district judge is required to hold a hearing to collect testimony and other information within 20 days from Monday – the day the contests were filed.
Miller and Mark Johnson – the lawyer who brought the contest in the Thomas race – said they expected the judges in each case to forward the information they gathered to the speaker of the Kansas House.
From there, the speaker would appoint a committee – equally represented by Democrats and Republicans – to consider the material collected by the court.
The special committee shall make a report to the full House no later than 10 days after it is appointed. The House then decides who is the elected member to the Legislature.
