County Clerk Gilbert Powers, election authority for Johnson County, has responded to a petition asking for a recount of election results in the Johnson County auditor’s and prosecuting attorney’s races in the Nov 7 general election. The petition also asks that a new election be held in the auditor’s race due to irregularities that allegedly occurred at the Pittsville polling site. Powers contends that no irregularities occurred.

The petition was filed by Kansas City attorney Patrick McInerny in behalf of Johnson County Auditor C. Kay Dolan who lost her bid for re-election by four votes, or a 0.03 percent difference to Republican challenger Teresa Collins and by Monica Penrose, the Democratic candidate for prosecuting attorney, who lost the race to Republican candidate Lynn Stoppy Brackin by 46 votes, a difference of .31 percent. State statutes allow candidates defeated by less than one percent of the votes to petition for a recount at no cost. In that petition filed on December 6, they asked the circuit court of Johnson County to grant them a statutory recount in the auditor and prosecuting attorney races as well as a new election in the auditor contest.

On December 21, Powers filed a motion to dismiss the petition. Count one of the petition requests a new election because of alleged voting irregularities.  Affidavits from witnesses stated that when the voting officials ran out of optical scan ballots, an unknown number of potential voters were not advised of whether or when they would be able to cast their ballots. The petition contends that potential voters left without voting.

Gilbert Power’s answer states that Pittsville was without the ballots for fifteen minutes and that voters always had the alternative use of the touch screen system to cast their ballot.

Upon signing the ballot book, voters received a yellow adhesive-back note with two numbers. One was their voting order number. The other circled number indicated the ballot they were to receive. Ballot #19 voters had no school issue to decide while ballot #20 voters did have a school issue. It was the #20 ballots that ran short.

According to the affidavits from Powers, two ballot judges, one technical worker and a worker from the county clerk’s office said the ballots were replenished after a supply of 91 was delivered from the election office in Warrensburg. When the ballots again ran low, a clerk was dispatched to check on the supply. At the Pittsville polling station, ballot copies were made as needed and the voting continued. One ballot judge stated there were 50 to 75 people present when the ballots were out.

Count One charges that because they were informed by election judges that there were no more ballots for voting, an unknown number of potential voters left the building. Count one requests a new election for the county auditor race. Powers requests the court dismiss Count 1 for failure to state a claim or order judgment against Dolan and in favor of Powers and Collins on Count 1. In addition, Powers requests the court order and direct Dolan to post a bond for any such election to cover all of the costs and expenses. He also requests the court assess the costs of the action against Dolan.

In response to Count Two and Count Three which call for a recount of the auditor and prosecuting attorney’s races respectively, Powers requests that a new computer program be prepared by Power’s vendor for the County Clerk’s office for the accurate optical scanner reader programmed to read only the votes cast for the offices of Auditor and Prosecuting attorney. He further requests that he be permitted to select a suitable and trained team for the retabulation by optical scanner reader and touch screen machines and for the hand count of previously hand counted ballots.

Powers stated that if the court upholds the petition, he will have 20 days in which to set the recount.

By Terry Vinck
News Staff

Tax Assessments Will Be Mailed Next Week

Personal property assessment forms for the year 2007 will be mailed to Johnson County residents next week according to County Assessor Mark Reynolds.

The assessment list must be completed, signed and postmarked or dated by the assessor's office by March 1 to avoid a penalty.

Anyone who was a Johnson County resident on January 1, 2007, and who owned personal property on January 1 must complete the form, Reynolds said.

Examples of how to fill out the forms will be included with the mailing.

Personal property that must be listed on the assessment form includes, but is not limited to:  Cars, trucks, motorcycles, boats, boat motors, airplanes, livestock, farm machinery, mobile homes on leased land, business equipment, business machines and fixtures.

County residents who completed 2007 assessment forms in the office earlier will receive another form in the mail, Reynolds said, but may disregard the mailed form.

He asks property owners to not simply put “same as last year”on the forms.  And he said, business forms that are not filled out will not receive depreciation.

Property owners who have not already filled out a form for 2007 and who do not receive one in the mail should contact the assessor’s office at the Johnson County Courthouse.

Anyone needing help filling out the form may bring it to the assessor’s office during business hours.

Persons having questions regarding their eligibility or items to be listed should contact Reynolds or his staff at (660) 747-9822.