On Tuesday, Aug. 2, Missouri and Kansas voters will vote in the 2022 primary election.
In Missouri, voters can choose which party’s ballot they select, even if they aren’t registered with a party. Statewide, Missourians will see U.S. Senate primary candidates on their ballots, as well as a variety of state legislature and local races by location. Learn what’s on your ballot here.
Missouri’s new voting law does not go into effect until the November election.
All Kansas voters, including those not affiliated with a party, can weigh in on a proposed constitutional amendment that would specify that the state’s constitution doesn’t include the right to abortion.
Party-affiliated voters statewide will also select candidates to compete in the November election, including for the U.S. Senate, governor and many local offices. In some cases, candidates who make it through the primary will run unopposed.
UPDATES FROM THE POLLS
10:33 p.m. With 11 out of 11 precincts reporting in Missouri State Representative District 19, incumbent Rep. Ingrid Burnett is the unofficial winner of the Democratic primary, with 59% of votes.
With 12 out 12 precincts reporting in Missouri State Representative District 36, Anthony Ealy is the unofficial winner of the Democratic primary, with 61% of votes.
10:21 p.m. With 56 of 56 precincts reporting, incumbent state Sen. Mike Cierpiot leads the GOP field for state Senate District 8 in Lee’s Summit, according to unofficial results from the secretary of state’s website.
10:11 p.m. Trudy Busch Valentine has won the Democratic nomination for U.S. Senate in Missouri, according to the Associated Press.
10:00 p.m. In the Republican primary for the 4th Congressional District in Missouri, the Associated Press has called the race for former TV anchor Mark Alford.
9:54 p.m. Kansans rejected a “Value Them Both” amendment that would have stripped the state constitution of abortion rights, according to The Associated Press.
With about half of precincts reporting, “No” votes outnumber “Yes” by roughly two-to-one.
Voter turnout is historically high, matching the turnout of some general elections, driven by voter interest in the proposed amendment to remove the right to an abortion from the Kansas constitution. Voters are voting “No” at greater margins than they voted for President Joe Biden in Nov. 2020.
At a “Vote No” watch party in Wichita, spirits are high.
“The No vote count has yet to fall below 60 percent this evening, and I don’t expect that to stay this way,” said Vote No watch party attendee Jaelynn Abegg.
Abegg doesn’t think that “No” votes will win by as comfortable a margin as early results show, but she said the grassroots activism that has sprung up against the amendment leaves her feeling optimistic.
9:37 p.m. With 148 of 148 precincts reporting in Wyandotte County, Candice Alcaraz and Tony Martinez are the unofficial winners of their judicial races, with 69% and 72% respectively. Alcaraz will be the first Black female district judge in Wyandotte County, having unseated Judge Wes Griffin, who was first elected in 2008. It is extremely uncommon for incumbent judges to be challenged in the primary.
9:12 p.m. With 13 of 56 precincts reporting in Missouri Senate District 8, incumbent Sen. Mike Cierpiot is leading his three-way primary with 51% of the vote, according to unofficial data from the secretary of state’s office. Joe Nicola is trailing with 33%, and Lee’s Summit teacher Rachl Aguirre is following at 15%.
9:03 p.m. U.S. Sen. Josh Hawley, who endorsed Rep. Vicky Hartzler in the race, congratulates Schmitt on his Senate primary nomination.
9:00 p.m. Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt won the Republican nomination to U.S. Senate in Missouri, according to the Associated Press.
8:41 p.m. Incumbent Rep. Emanuel Cleaver won the Democratic nomination in the 5th Congressional District in Missouri, according to an Associated Press race call. Cleaver has held the seat since 2005.
8:45 p.m. With 551 of 3592 precincts reporting statewide, Attorney General Eric Schmitt leads the Republican field for U.S. Senate with 42% of the vote so far. Rep. Vicky Hartzler is in a distant second with 24% of the vote. Eric Greitens trails with 20%.
On the Democratic side, Trudy Busch Valentine is leading with nearly 45% to Lucas Kunce’s 32%. Spencer Toder is trailing at 3.5%.
6:27 p.m. Voters are still waiting to vote at the Kansas National Guard Armory.
6:00 p.m. In both Missouri and Kansas, there’s still time to vote in today’s primary election as polls remain open for another hour. If you’re still waiting in line when 7 p.m. comes, stay at the polling place. It won’t close until everyone who lined up on time has voted.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said his office won’t start releasing election results until all polling locations are closed.
5:38 p.m. Lorraine Colbert Elmore handed out pamphlets on voting rights near the World War I Museum polling place. She was with Election Protection and is also a member of the League of Women Voters.
“Voting laws have changed recently, but the law isn’t in effect right now,” she said. “There’s a lot of confusion about ID requirements and things like that, so we’re just here giving people information.”
“If you have a problem and you’re being denied your right to vote you can call this number (1-866-OUR-VOTE) and talk to a lawyer immediately and try to get it straightened out,” she said.
5:05 p.m. Brian B. Shynin’ said he voted because, “America’s going to hell and we’ve gotta save it.”
Shynin’ said abortion and gun violence are important issues for him. Although he votes in Missouri, the proposed abortion amendment in Kansas exemplifies what he’s concerned about.
“It just fuels my passion to make change,” he said, adding that he votes for Democrats because he feels they are more in line with the founding fathers’ vision of America as “equal for everybody.”
“Everybody’s supposed to be free in this country, freedom of religion and freedom of this and that and the third, and it doesn’t apply to a certain sector of people,” he said.
4:45 p.m. Myron Peterson is a registered Democrat. He told The Beacon he votes in every election: general elections and primaries.
On Tuesday he cast his ballot for incumbent Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver II.
“To tell the truth, I forgot I have vacation this week,” Peterson said. “I went to work and they told me I’m on vacation so I turned around (to go vote).”
4:35 p.m. Voters across Kansas received text messages on the eve of the 2022 primary misrepresenting what a “yes” vote on the state’s contentious abortion amendment would mean.
But unlike the campaign messaging most voters are used to — and as is often required on campaign messages — the source of the message was not identified in the texts.
Now tech company Twilio says it sent the texts, and was hired by political marketing firm Alliance Forge, according to The Washington Post. Alliance Forge Chief Executive David Espinosa told The Post in a statement that, “Alliance Forge did not consult on this message’s messaging strategy or content.”
State campaign disclosure reports show Alliance Forge received $26,335 this year from political action committee Do Right Pac, funded almost entirely by advocacy group CatholicVote. The PAC was founded by Tim Huelskamp, former U.S. Representative for Kansas’ Big 1st Congressional District from 2011 to 2017. Of the $530,000 his PAC raised this year, $500,000 came from CatholicVote.
Huelskamp could not be reached for comment.
Read more from The Wichita Beacon
3:03 p.m. At the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center, Neuton and Sally Williamson said they haven’t missed an election in years. Neuton Williamson said the couple voted yes on the Kansas abortion amendment.“We just hope and pray that it’ll pass, that it will ultimately lead to the legislature making some good choices to regulate the abortion industry,” he said.
“The truth is, this amendment is to correct something that was wrong in the first place,” Sally Williamson said. “You don’t have a Supreme Court legislating, which is what happened.”
2:15 p.m. “It was good. It was easy,” said Emma Goulding, 18, about her first time voting, which was at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center.
“I’m pretty passionate about the stuff I believe in, so it’s exciting to vote for the first time and represent that.”
1:49 p.m. Justin Hernandez brought his children with him to vote at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center because he wanted them to understand the importance of participation.
Hernandez doesn’t vote in every primary election, but felt this one was “historic.”
He said he felt conflicted about the abortion amendment, but decided he had to vote based on what he thought was best for everyone rather than what would benefit him personally.
“I don’t know that I could make the choice, with my wife, to follow through with with abortion,” he said. “But I know that’s because I have the choice on whether to do that or not, right? And so what may make sense for me and my wife may not make sense for somebody else.”
“I’ve tried to be very objective with kind of how I think and try to put myself in other people’s shoes,” Hernandez said. “I feel like if other people kind of do the same, everybody will have a little bit more understanding and compassion for others.”
1:25 p.m. Reporter Marco Schaden spoke with Abbie Delaney, 20, who convinced her father Jeff, 61, to vote no on the Kansas abortion amendment. Jeff explains why he changed his mind from his original stance when voting today at the Johnson County Arts and Heritage Center in Overland Park.
1:20 p.m. Former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens tweeted a video touting an endorsement from former President Donald Trump, after Trump issued a confusing late-stage endorsement to “ERIC” in a statement Monday night. Attorney General Eric Schmitt is also running in the GOP primary for the U.S. Senate in Missouri.
“I trust the Great People of Missouri, on this one, to make up their own minds, much as they did when they gave me landslide victories in the 2016 and 2020 Elections, and I am therefore proud to announce that ERIC has my Complete and Total Endorsement!” Trump said.
Both candidates claimed the endorsement and Greitens tweeted that he spoke to Trump on the phone. Greitens has recently tumbled from the top of the polls after his ex-wife alleged in court that Greitens had behaved in a physically abusive manner toward their children. Read more about the dynamics at play in the U.S. Senate primaries in Missouri.
12:56 p.m. In a radio interview, Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, Missouri’s top election official, reminded voters that if you are in line by 7 p.m., you are allowed to vote.
“If you can’t go to the polls during the middle of the day, or you’d get into line at 6:55 at night, as long as you’re a registered voter and you are in line by 7 o’clock, you will be allowed to vote. The polls do not close until everyone in line at 7 o’clock votes,” Ashcroft said, adding that his office won’t release any results until all polling locations are closed.
“The biggest problem with our elections is people not participating.”
12:49 p.m. Darron Story, a resident of Squier Park and candidate for City Council in Kansas City, voted at Mt. Sinai Missionary Baptist Church.
“As an African American, I feel that it’s a moral imperative for me to get out and vote since blood was shed for my right to do that. I’ve told my children that you need to go do that,” he said.
Story said he expected to be in the Jackson County Legislature’s first district but realized when he arrived at the polls that redistricting had placed him in the second district.
He voted for Mitchell Sudduth because he knew him. “I know that he would do a good job, he’s responsible.”
11:40 a.m. Vineyard Community Church in Prairie Village had a line of voters almost to the door. More than 360 had voted at that location by 11 a.m. and poll workers said it was busier than usual for a primary.
11:33 a.m. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly casts her ballot for the primary election.
11:31 a.m. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, tweets support for Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt in the Republican Senate primary.
10:52 a.m. If you have issues at the polls, the non-partisan Election Protection hotline is live. Voters can call 866-OUR-VOTE to report issues at their polling places, request information about their precinct, or to check their registration and polling place, ask questions and get help in real time. For a Spanish language line, call 888-VE-Y-VOTA.
You have the right to receive assistance from a poll worker if you need help, get a new ballot if you make a mistake, or vote curbside from your car if you cannot go inside the polling place.
10:30 a.m. Nichole Kennedy is a Missouri Democrat, who is originally from Kansas. Kennedy told The Beacon that she tries to show up for every primary election, even if she hasn’t closely supported any candidates on the ballot.
I’ve lived in Kansas City for about 25 years now. And I’ve always voted regardless of whether or not there’s a particular candidate I’m interested in or not.
Nichole Kennedy
She said she hopes turnout will be high in Kansas as voters there weigh in on the future of abortion access in the state.
“I hope people get out to vote, just as well. I think there’s a lot going on there. And I think that Kansas has always been a state that will always surprise you, right? You never really know which way they’re gonna go. So hopefully they vote on some things that matter during this primary,” she added.
9:57 a.m. In Wichita, voters are casting ballots at Reformation Lutheran Church, the site where abortion provider George Tiller was killed in 2009.
9:20 a.m. Charlie Long, a Wyandotte County resident, voted “yes” on Amendment 2 Tuesday morning, he told The Beacon.
“Right now, as it stands, the Supreme Court in the state of Kansas has what amounts to a fundamental right for people to murder unborn babies in the Kansas state Constitution,” Long said Tuesday morning.
“I think that was a reach,” he continued. “I don’t think that a fair reading of the Kansas state Constitution gives that right. Nor should it. And so I think that this amendment, if it were to pass, would remove any possibility of a future reading of that ‘right’ in the Constitution, which will allow the legislature to decide by different people in the future, whether or not we want an abortion in the state.”
The Beacon has already answered some reader questions at The Wichita Beacon’s voter help desk about voting in Kansas, if you still have questions before you head to the polls today. Here’s what to expect while voting, including what’s on the ballot.
9:10 a.m. Jennifer Simmons, a voter in the Argentine neighborhood in Kansas City, Kansas, said she normally doesn’t turn out to vote in primary elections, but voting “no” on the Kansas abortion amendment brought her to the polls on Tuesday.
“I have a daughter that’s passionate about it. But the truth is, she doesn’t have a voice yet. And hopefully I’ll have a granddaughter one day, and she doesn’t have a voice yet,” Simmons said.
“My mother and my grandmother fought way too hard for our rights. And that’s why it’s very important for me, and today I only marked one dot on that ballot. That’s the only reason I came in.”
9 a.m. Angel Lopez, a voter in Wyandotte County, said she had never voted in a primary election before, but voting on Amendment 2 was what brought her to the polls.
“I never vote in these, ever,” Lopez told The Beacon in the Argentine neighborhood on Tuesday morning.
“I’m a woman. I think you should have the right to do what we want with our own bodies. I was a little torn because I am Catholic, but I feel like as a person and a woman that is more important. I think we should have the right to choose anything.”
Candidates, issues and guides
Missouri: 2022 Primary Elections
Statewide
- What’s on your Missouri ballot for the August primary
- Tuesday’s election to put an end to bitter Missouri primaries for U.S. Senate
Jackson County
- Five questions with the Democratic candidates for Jackson County 1st District legislator
- Meet the Republicans running for Jackson County Legislature 1st At-Large District
- Your 2022 primary election guide to Jackson County Legislature’s 2nd District
- Five candidates compete to represent the 2nd At-Large District in Jackson County Legislature
- A contest between Democrats: Who is running for Jackson County Legislature 3rd At-Large District?
- Five questions with the Republican candidates for Jackson County 6th District legislator
Kansas City, Missouri, metro
Kansas: 2022 Primary Elections
Statewide
- Follow the money: Who is funding Kansas abortion amendment ads?
- Kansas will be the first state to vote on abortion after Roe. Here’s how we got here
- Voting in the Kansas primary? Here’s what to expect when casting your ballot
- Kansas Voter Help Desk: Your questions answered
Johnson County
- These four Johnson County elections will decide who oversees a $1.45 billion budget (Johnson County Commission)
- Who are the candidates running for chairperson of the Johnson County Commission?
Wyandotte County
