photo by: Mike Yoder

Candidates Keith Diaz Moore, far left and Randy Masten far right, celebrate being elected to the Lawrence school board Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Masten, Moore, Rick Ingram and Shannon Kimball were the four candidates of the field of nine elected to the board. At center left is Megan Green and center right is Jonathan Earle.

10:18 p.m. update

As election night comes to a close in Lawrence, we’ll leave you with a few photos from celebrations. You can view the full gallery here.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Candidates Keith Diaz Moore, far left and Randy Masten far right, celebrate being elected to the Lawrence school board Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Masten, Moore, Rick Ingram and Shannon Kimball were the four candidates of the field of nine elected to the board. At center left is Megan Green and center right is Jonathan Earle.

photo by: Mike Yoder

Family members and supports take photos of Keith Diaz Moore, Randy Masten and Rick Ingram at Pachamama's Alton Ballroom Tuesday, April 5, 2011. All three were elected to the Lawrence school board along with Shannon Kimball (not pictured).

photo by: Nick Krug

School board candidate Shannon Kimball chats with crowd members on election night at the Douglas County Courthouse on Tuesday, April 5, 2011. Kimball was one of four candidates elected to the Lawrence school board.

— Whitney Mathews

9:37 p.m. update

As a reminder all of the votes are unofficial until Douglas County Commissioners canvas the votes on Monday. There are 107 provisional ballots that must be reviewed by commissioners. Given the closeness of the top two spots, it is possible the two positions could flip-flop. But largely the positions are for bragging rights.

The top two finishers both receive four-year terms. One difference is that — if tradition holds — Schumm as the top finisher would be in line to become mayor in April 2012, while Dever as the second place finisher would be mayor in April 2013.

The courthouse has emptied out but I have several comments from tonight’s winners that I’ll be posting shortly.

— Chad Lawhorn

9:32 p.m. update

School board results are in, too, and your new school board members are Rick Ingram, Shannon Kimball, Randy Masten and Keith Diaz Moore. See how the rest of the candidates did on our precinct-by-precinct breakdown of the election results.

— Whitney Mathews

9:23 p.m. update

All precincts are reporting, and Bob Schumm has taken the top spot in the race for Lawrence City Commission. See who else was elected over on our results page.

— Whitney Mathews

8:56 p.m. update

Here are some more photos from the Douglas County Courthouse (and one of a gorgeous sunset that we couldn’t resist sharing).

photo by: Mark Fagan

Lawrence City Commissioners Mike Dever, left, and Aron Cromwell, center, visit with Brad Finkeldei at the Douglas County Courthouse, where Finkeldei has been monitoring election returns April 5, 2011. Dever was seeking reelection and arrived at the courthouse at 8:20 p.m. — after completing his commission meeting a few blocks away at City Hall.

photo by: Mark Fagan

Workers accept ballot boxes in the commission meeting room upstairs at the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Mass. Election worker Carrie Moore talks with Phillip Wrigley, right, who was supervising poll judge in Wakarusa Township, north of Lawrence.

photo by: Mike Yoder

The sun sets over downtown Lawrence April 5, 2011.

8:34 p.m. update

Just a little bit about the atmosphere here at the Douglas County Courthouse this evening. I just arrived here from the Lawrence City Commission meeting, and I was really surprised at how few people are at the Courthouse.

I’ve covered most city and school elections here since the early 1990s, and this is by far the most low-key turnout at the courthouse.

There may be 25 people here who aren’t election workers. In past years, the lobby has been full, the County Commission room has been crowded. This is like the election that nearly everyone forgot.

— Chad Lawhorn

8:30 p.m. update

Douglas County Clerk Jaime Shew is sporting his lucky election tie — the same one he’s been wearing for all 18 elections since 2005, since he’s been Douglas County clerk, the county’s chief elections officer.

“I’m a man of tradition,” he said. “And I always eat Chipotle on Election Day.”

In case you’re wondering, that’s a chicken burrito with black beans.

He’s not about to break the habit (although he does concede that he skipped out on the sour cream this year).
Why stick with the neckwear and the grub?

“I’m afraid of that one time I don’t,” he said, “it all goes downhill.”

photo by: Mark Fagan

Douglas County clerk Jamie Shew awaits election results at the Douglas County Courthouse on Tuesday, April 5, 2011.

— Mark Fagan

8:11 p.m. update

Candidates are waiting for results more than anyone, and school board candidate Marlene Merrill, an incumbent seeking reelection to the Lawrence school board, passes time at the Douglas County Courthouse by… reading.

Her book: “American Rose,” the story of Gypsy Rose Lee — a famous burlesque actress of the ’40s. I saw an article about this in the Journal-World, and it intrigued me,” she said. Also: It’s due Wednesday at the library. “I’m a fast reader,” she said.

— Mark Fagan

8:02 p.m. update

We now have results for most races in Douglas County. Keep an eye on the results page over at LJWorld.com/elections. If you’re looking for info on the Lawrence races, visit these links:

– Lawrence City Commission
– Lawrence School Board

— Whitney Mathews

7:46 p.m. update

Here are totals for advance voting, which started 20 days before the election and allowed people either to vote in person, or vote by mail.

The returns span precincts all over town and throughout Douglas County, depending on where residents live.
That’s why the such results typically regarded as a good barometer of results to come, as poll workers start bringing in results from today’s in-person voting.

“A lot of times it does show the trend, especially if I end up with 10,000 voters (overall) — 1,000, that’s a chunk of the vote,” said Jamie Shew, county clerk. “That’s 10 percent.”

Voters will be electing three Lawrence city commissioners, who will take office next week.

Voters also will be electing four members of the Lawrence school board, who will take office in July.

Here are the advance-voting results for Lawrence City Commission:
1. Mike Dever, 536
2. Bob Schumm, 522
3. Hugh Carter, 396
4. Mike Machell, 331
5. Sven Alstrom, 200

Here are the advance-voting totals for Lawrence school board:
1. Shannon Kimball, 367
2. Randy Masten, 336
3. Marlene Merrill, 309
4. Keith Diaz Moore, 290
5. Rick Ingram, 260
6. Ola Faucher, 236
7. Bill Roth, 167
8. Jim Clark, 161
9. Diane Lindeman, 13
10. Tyler Palmer, 71

Baldwin City Council:
1. Jason Mock, 32
2. Coy Weege, 26
3. Shane Starkey, 25
4, Kenneth Hayes, 24

Eudora City Council:
1. Ruth Hughs, 42
2. Jerry Trober Sr., 35
3. Keneth Massey, 31
4. John Fiore, 22
5. Maria Nelson, 15
6. Chris Fielder, 2

The next report is expected about 8 p.m., Shew said.

— Mark Fagan

7:39 p.m. update

Results are starting to trickle in over on our elections page. Keep refreshing this section to see as votes are tallied.

We have one final poll check, too. WellCommons.com reporter Karrey Britt was the last voter at Mustard Seed Church. She was No. 282. Poll workers told her it was the worst turnout they could remember.

— Whitney Mathews

7 p.m. update

It’s 7 p.m., and the polls are closed.

Now, elections personnel are busy at the Douglas County Courthouse… waiting.

They’re waiting for results to come in from the 65 polling places spanning 67 precincts in Douglas County, where voters — depending on their locations — were voting for Lawrence City Commission and various school board races, including Lawrence school board.

Once results start coming in, they’ll appear on [our elections page][7]. Check back about 7:30.

— Mark Fagan

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