photo by: Josie Heimsoth/Journal-World

A "VOTE HERE" sign outside the American Legion, 3408 West Sixth St., on Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026.

An election that will decide the winners for everything from U.S. senator to governor to county commissioners to township officials is entering its final stages.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The final day of voting follows a multi-week period of advance voting. In person advance voting ended at noon Monday, and Douglas County’s top election official said the numbers were higher than a normal for a non-presidential election year.

Douglas County counted 17,677 in-person advance voters ahead of Tuesday’s general election. This year’s early in-person voters surpassed the total ahead of the 2022 midterm election but was below the 2024 presidential election, Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew said. The total of in-person advance voters is higher than the approximately 11,000 people who voted early in 2022, but lower than the roughly 21,000 who did so in 2024.

Shew said the increase compared with 2022 may not necessarily mean a higher overall turnout because some residents who voted early this year had cast ballots on Election Day or by mail in previous elections.

Shew said about 37% of the people who voted early in person this year had voted in the 2022 election, either at their polling place or by mail. He said the office will be watching to see whether it will translate into an increase in overall turnout on Election Day.

The county also mailed 9,905 advance ballots and has received 7,053 of them back as of Monday. Shew said the county typically mails out about 15,000 ballots in an election, making this year’s total lower than usual.

Shew said it was unclear whether the lower mail-in ballots reflected a change in voter turnout or whether voters are more likely to steer clear of mail in ballots as national concerns have been raised that postal delivery of ballots could be delayed.

Shew said Douglas County has never surpassed 50,000 voters in an election which voters choose their state’s governor. The highest turnout was in 2018, when slightly more than 49,000 residents cast their ballots.

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With Election Day on Tuesday, here’s what Douglas County voters need to know and how they can cast their ballot.

Voters heading to the polls will see a range of races on their general election ballots, including contests for federal and statewide offices as well as seats in the Kansas Legislature and the Douglas County Commission. People can see the Lawrence Journal-World’s Voter’s Guide for additional information.

Depending on where voters live, there will also be legislative questions. Lawrence, Eudora, and Perry-Lecompton voters will each see local questions, addressing issues specific to their communities and schools. There is also a statewide constitutional amendment on voting eligibility.

The polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesday, and each voter has an assigned polling location, which can be viewed at dgcoks.gov/county-clerk/voting-and-elections/where-to-vote. In-person voters on Election Day cannot vote at the Douglas County Election’s Office.

If voters still have their mail-in ballot, Shew said instead of mailing it, drop the ballot in a ballot box or polling place to ensure the vote is counted. If dropping at a polling place, the advance ballots must be dropped off during the polls’ operational hours.

Additionally, residents who requested an advance mail-in ballot but have not received it can still vote, Shew said. He said voters in that situation should go to their assigned polling place, tell election workers of the situation, and receive a provisional ballot. A provisional ballot allows a voter to cast a ballot, but the ballot is held to the side to give the county’s election board time to investigate the issue surrounding the ballot and determine if it has been legally cast.

People who choose to mail their advance ballots should be aware the ballots have to be postmarked on or before Election Day. However, state law does not require the county’s election office to receive the ballot by Election Day. Rather, the election office must receive the ballot in the mail by Friday in order for it to be counted. Due to delays in postal delivery, Shew is advising voters to consider dropping their advance ballot at one of the many ballot drop boxes located in Douglas County. Those locations include:

• The Douglas County Election’s Office, 711 W. 23rd St. in Lawrence.

• The Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. in Lawrence.

• The Douglas County Treasurer’s Sixth Street Office, 2601 W. Sixth St. in Lawrence.

• Golf Course Superintendents Building, 1421 Research Park Dr. in Lawrence.

• Baldwin City Hall, 803 Eighth St. in Baldwin City.

• Eudora City Hall, 4 E. Seventh St. in Eudora.

• Lecompton City Hall, 327 Elmore St. in Lecompton.