A ballot mix-up in Clay County may have handed roughly 1,500 registered voters the wrong county commission contest — leaving the western race off their ballots during Tuesday’s primary. Election officials are investigating, and the size of the potential impact remains unknown.
The Clay County Board of Election Commissioners discovered the problem in the 21 Chouteau 13 precinct, according to The Kansas City Star. Affected voters likely received a ballot for the eastern portion of the county, while the Western Commissioner Seat 2 race was omitted; that contest included incumbent Jon Carpenter, Theresa Leaming and James Lyen and was voted on in 35 precincts. Jason Withington said he learned about the error Tuesday afternoon after a constituent reported that the race was missing, and estimated the mistake could have affected around 1,500 registered voters.
One Precinct May Have Been Given The Wrong District Ballot
Clay County’s commission structure divides representation between eastern and western districts, with additional at-large seats, according to the Clay County government. Withington is the western commissioner at-large, while Carpenter holds a western commissioner seat, making the correct district ballot essential in contests that are not countywide.
The eastern commission seat had only two candidates and therefore did not have a primary, while the western Seat 2 contest did. That means voters who received the eastern ballot may have been able to vote in a race that was not theirs while missing the western contest they were supposed to decide.
Election Board Must Determine Whether Results Were Affected
The Clay County election board’s voter information page identifies Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2026, as the primary date and says its updated check-in system is intended to ensure voters receive the correct ballot. The board also provides sample-ballot and election information through its election website.
The Clay County situation follows a separate Kansas City ballot error in which 251 in-person absentee voters received ballots missing two Jackson County Legislature races, as Hoodline previously reported. That case involved supplemental ballots, but Clay County officials have not announced a remedy for this latest problem.
The Clay County Board of Election Commissioners will determine whether the error was large enough to disrupt the election results after all votes are counted, the Star reported. Until officials establish how many voters were affected and how their ballots can be reviewed, the outcome of the Western Commissioner Seat 2 race remains subject to scrutiny.
