Attorneys argue about opening GOP primary

Topeka — Two days after this year’s primary election, attorneys returned to court to argue over whether unaffiliated voters should be permitted to participate in Republican contests.

A lawsuit over opening this year’s GOP primary remains alive, even though the balloting is done. And Shawnee County District Judge Charles Andrews said Thursday the litigation might continue so that some legal issues could be settled.

In July, Andrews blocked Republicans from opening their primary to unaffiliated voters. State GOP Chairman Dennis Jones had decided unaffiliated voters could cast ballots, but Andrews ruled that Jones overstepped his authority. Andrews had a hearing Thursday because Jones asked the judge to reconsider his July order.

Before the primary, some Republicans and political scientists speculated that allowing participation by unaffiliated voters would hurt conservative candidates.

Thornburgh surprised by primary turnout

Topeka — Contested primaries and special questions helped push turnout in Tuesday’s primary election to nearly 30 percent, the secretary of state said Thursday.

Ron Thornburgh had predicted about 430,000 voters would go to the polls, but a preliminary count shows he missed the mark by about 44,000 voters.

“I think that’s great news for Kansas,” Thornburgh said. “What it really shows, where there was a contested race or a special election, turnout was good.”

There are more than 1.59 million registered voters in Kansas. Republicans hold the advantage in registration with 730,049 voters, followed by Democrats at 428,728 and unaffiliated voters at 421,946.