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After a long and tumultuous election season, shaped by an unprecedented pandemic and mass protests against racism and police violence, Election Day is finally here. Millions have already cast their vote for president and other statewide and local races, and more are expected to turn up at the polls today to vote in person. Today, Beacon reporters and photographers will be providing live updates on what voters in Kansas and Missouri are seeing at the polls. And tonight, when the polls close and election authorities begin counting votes, we will exercise all caution when reporting out results. We will only post official results on this page verified by the Associated Press.
6:45 a.m. (Nov. 4) The Presidential race, and Senate and House majorities are too close to call, according to the Associated Press. Overnight, President Trump declared victory, but millions of votes in swing states have yet to be counted. AP is calling 238 electoral votes for Biden and 213 for Trump; 270 are needed to win.
In Missouri, Amendment 3 is poised to pass, returning the state to the use of bipartisan commissions appointed by the governor for legislative redistricting and eliminating the nonpartisan state demographer. Meanwhile, Amendment 1, which would have limited top state officials to two terms in office, is poised to fail.
Unofficial results from Kansas
Unofficial results from Missouri
10:27 p.m. (Nov. 3) According to the AP, Republican Jake LaTurner has won the U.S. House race to represent the 2nd Congressional District in Kansas, which encompasses the eastern part of the state excluding the Kansas City metropolitan area. LaTurner is leading with 55% of the vote.
10 p.m. Democratic incumbent Rep. Sharice Davids has won re-election in Kansas’s 3rd Congressional District with 54% of the vote. The district encompasses Wyandotte and Johnson counties and parts of Miami County. The AP has also called the Kansas U.S. Senate race for Republican Roger Marshall, who is currently leading with 52% of the vote.
9:47 p.m. Incumbent Gov. Mike Parson wins re-election in Missouri with nearly 70% of the vote so far, according to the AP.
9:32 p.m. Democrat Cori Bush has won her race for Missouri’s 1st Congressional District, which encompasses the city of St. Louis and parts of northern St. Louis County, according to the AP. The AP also just called Missouri for Trump, who is leading with 73% of the vote.
9:18 p.m. With about 65% percent of votes reported, President Donald Trump has won Kansas, according to the Associated Press.
8:27 p.m. Unofficial results in all 514 precincts in Johnson County have been finalized. According to results on Kansas’s Secretary of State website, Democratic candidate Joe Biden has won 53% of the vote in Johnson County. In 2016, Donald Trump won Johnson County by only 2.6 percentage points over Hillary Clinton.
8 p.m. The Missouri Secretary of State’s office has announced that all voters have cast their ballots. Unofficial election results will be entered on the Secretary of State’s website.
7:55 p.m. At Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, where voters experienced hourslong wait times earlier in the day, the line of cars was considerably shorter as polls drew to a close. To make the line move faster, election worker Alyssa Mayer said the KCEB added more poll workers, poll pads and created two lines instead of just one. Poll workers also went down the line of cars, telling people to be ready to vote when they get to the front of the line and expedite the process.
7:47 p.m. With the polls closed in Kansas, several counties, including Johnson County, have begun to report unofficial results. So far, 16 of 3,587 precincts are reporting results.
7 p.m. Polls have officially closed in Kansas and Missouri. Any voter who is still in line at their polling location can still cast a ballot.
6 p.m. There’s one hour left to vote in Kansas and Missouri. Johnson County election commissioner Connie Schmidt said mail ballots and advanced in-person votes will be included in the first round of results.
5:36 p.m. According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, a total of 813,005 votes, including returned mail-in ballots and votes cast in-person, have been cast so far. 66,914 mail ballots have not been returned so far, for a return rate of nearly 87%.
5:28 p.m. Polls in Missouri and Kansas close at 7 p.m. Any voter who is in line to vote at 7 p.m. can still cast their ballot.
4:47 p.m. Voters across the U.S., including those in Kansas, have reportedly been receiving robocalls telling them to stay home. According to the Associated Press, the FBI is investigating these calls.
4:42 p.m. Voters in Kansas who have not yet returned their mail-in ballots are encouraged to either submit it to their local county election office, their polling place or at a ballot drop box in their county. Voters have until 7 p.m. to submit their ballots via ballot drop box.
4:23 p.m. Wyandotte voter Tay Hill, 25, said she had an easy time voting today. “I voted because my ancestors did their right to let me, so I feel like it’s only right that I go and help support the ones that supposedly care for lower-income families and people in my city who actually need the help.”
3:31 p.m. Despite relatively short waits at most polling locations across the Kansas City metro, COVID-positive voters in Kansas City, Missouri — who were encouraged to use curbside voting at Union Station — are waiting hours to cast their ballots.
1:27 p.m. The Kansas Secretary of State reminds voters to return their advance by mail ballots to any polling location in their county, a secure ballot drop box, or their county election office by 7:00 p.m.
1:15 p.m. Long lines of cars with people waiting for curbside voting at Union Station. The Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners has encouraged those exposed to COVID-19 or with disabilities to vote curbside at Union Station rather than at their assigned polling place.
12:58 p.m. Johnson County election commissioner Connie Schmidt encourages voters to drop off their advance mail ballots at a Johnson County Election Office drop box before 7 p.m.
12:37 p.m. Abdul Mahamud (who didn’t want to be photographed,) said he voted today for Biden in hopes to unite the country. He’s from Somalia and has been a US voter since the Clinton era. “I have a lot of friends who have made the decision to move the country” if Trump wins. via @jamieahobbs
12:21 p.m. The Kansas Secretary of State has received reports of robocalls telling voters to stay home. They say to disregard these calls and go out and vote.
12:14 p.m. Scenes from the Garfield Elementary School polling site:
Voter Willie Reynolds says that he is concerned about COVID-19, but felt safe today at the polls. Joseph Cavallaro talks about his experience voting for Trump and living in the Northeast neighborhood.
11:19 a.m. Short line at the Garfield Elementary polling site.
11:14 a.m. Long waits have been reported for curbside voters in Kansas City within Jackson County.
10:45 a.m. A voter at Raytown City Hall says that she has witnessed other voters following mask wearing and social distancing guidelines.
10:20 a.m. Voter John Johnson expresses his frustrations with Election Day in Missouri compared to voting in Oregon. “It’s just a hassle to vote,” he says.
10:09 a.m. Scenes from the morning of Election Day:
9:57 a.m. Long line at Raytown City Hall.
9:53 p.m. Long lines are reported at Cordill Mason Elementary, 4001 SW Christiansen Dr, Blue Springs, MO. Short lines reported at Evangel Church 1414 E 103rd St, Kansas City, MO.
9:25 a.m. If you experience voter intimidation or harassment at your polling station today, you can call the Kansas voter protection hotline at (844) 578-6837 and the Missouri line at (314) 652-3929.
9:36 a.m. Communities Creating Opportunities is offering free rides to polling places for those who live in zip codes 64109, 64127, 64128, 64130, or 64132.
9:20 a.m. The Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners has received three reports of people being unable to vote at the Millennium at Santa Fe Elementary School (8908 Old Santa Fe Rd), but cannot confirm whether or not the problem has been resolved. If you are unable to vote at your assigned polling site, KCEB advises that you vote at any other polling location in Kansas City within Jackson County. The only difference is that you will not be able to vote via paper ballot.
This was reported the help of tips from ProPublica’s Electionland project.
9:05 a.m. Some voters have been turned away from Arrowhead Stadium due to being part of the wrong locality. Voting at Arrowhead Stadium is only open to voters who reside in Kansas City within Jackson County.
8:51 a.m. In Missouri, advance ballots are now able to be counted. In Kansas, the counting of advance ballots can begin after the polls close tonight.
8:35 a.m. Lines at Arrowhead Stadium appear to be moving along well, despite longer lines earlier in the morning.
8:11 a.m. If you are quarantining due to COVID-19, but still need to vote, here are the instructions for Jackson, Platte, Clay, and Cass counties. You can call your election board to set up a time for curbside voting.
7:57 a.m. Some businesses at the Country Club Plaza have been boarded up.
7:30 a.m. At least 98.8 million people have voted before Election Day, which is 71% of the total number of ballots cast in the 2016 presidential election.
7:23 a.m. The National WWI Museum and Memorial, which is serving as a polling location, has been defaced with the terms “fight for revolution” and “don’t vote.”
7:21 a.m. The new polling place at Arrowhead Stadium, which is open to any voter who lives in Kansas City within Jackson County, reportedly has the shortest wait time out of any of the Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners polling sites.
7 a.m. Polls open in all of Kansas. Polls close at 7 p.m. in Missouri and Kansas. Anyone in line at that time will be allowed to vote.
6:50 a.m. Although the Clay County Board of Election Commissioners website contains instructions to surrender absentee ballots at the county annex, it is reported that the county annex is closed and that Clay County voters should surrender absentee ballots at their polling places instead.
6:49 a.m. Voters stand in long lines at the Heartland Church of Christ in Platte County.
6:45 a.m. The opening of the polls was met with a brief cheer at Troost Elementary School in Kansas City, Mo. At 6 a.m., a line snaked through the parking lot, quiet save for gospel music playing on a cell phone and occasional mutters from electioneers. Early morning voters waited about 35 minutes to cast their votes.
6:05 a.m. Reports of long lines at Arrowhead Stadium, Tony Aguirre Community Center polling sites.
6 a.m. Polls open in Missouri and Johnson County, Kansas.
5:44 a.m. Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, Quinton Lucas, says that Election Day should be a national holiday.
