Why do we have two election boards?

Submitted by ELISA on October 7, 2009 - 6:08pm

Can someone please tell me why we need to pay two election boards?

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I/m not aware that Independence has an election board. Does the city have a board separate from that of Jackson County? The Jackson County board claims it supervises elections in all political subdivisions within the county, except Kansas City. For Kansas City to have a separate board makes sense in that the city covers parts of four counties. Dealing with four separate boards for a city election would be a nightmare.

Submitted by civil on October 8, 2009 - 11:24am.

Hey Civil......  I have to be with you on this one, b/c to my knowledge Independence doesn't have their own "election board."  I know JACOEB is up off of Truman Road here in Independence, and PensivePete is right that we help fund KCMOEB with Jackson County EB funds, but there is no Indep EB.  If there is I was never told about it, so that is news to me.... Now, as for folding the EB's into one there isn't even a word made available to define how horrible that would be....

Submitted by dragonlady on October 9, 2009 - 11:28am.

Section 115.017 rsMO might give you a clue.

Submitted by civil on October 8, 2009 - 8:19am.

jackson county election board and the kansas city election board are 2 separate indeties.
kansas city has theirs for taxes and other inside the city elections that dont have anything to do with the rest of the county.
todd

Submitted by tfedo69 on October 8, 2009 - 6:22am.

Todd Thanks for your blog. I was told this is one of the few places in the state that has two election boards. Can we not get around this some how to save the tax payers money? I am not trying to put you on the spot if you don't know I am just trying to understand this. Thanks   xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 7:13am.

It basically because Kansas City is a highly populated city situated in more than one county, so state law allows it to have it's own elections board.
Jackson County government has been complaining about it for years, because they are stuck funding two elections boards. It is a particulary frustrating issue for them, since both elections boards use different voting booth systems, so they can't even buy "in bulk" to save money, and the county has no power to force them to buy the same equipment.
But JC does have the power to put the COMBAT tax up for election during a general election, when there would be cost efficiencies because the election boards are already hiring people to "man" the booths, transport ballots and count the votes.
 

Submitted by PensivePete on October 8, 2009 - 9:24am.

PensivePete What has been said that could change this? Can we not do team work on this? I would think all of us would want to save money.

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 1:01pm.

What is it that you want to change? Do you want to merge Jackson Count'y's board with that of KC or do you want to eliminate KC's board? I don't understand where you are going with this.

Submitted by civil on October 8, 2009 - 1:13pm.

Civil I want to know how we could save money. That is where I am going on this. I was told by someone that I respect we have a problem with this. That's it.   xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 3:03pm.

I guess that is my problem. As far as I know there are two Election Boards in Jackson County;the one run by the county and the other run by KC. This s as empowered by Section 115.017 rsMO. Kansas City covers 4 counties. For them to have a city election without an internal board would require coordination by 4 different counties. That would be a nightmare. What problems does your friend see with the current law and setups? How would they like to see it changed? You note that few places in Missouri have multiple Election Boards in the same county. That's because of criteria contained in the statute. Only KC and St. Louis qualify for their separate Boards. I don't see the double cost to anybody. I don't think I pay for the KC board, and I wonder, do the KC folks pay for the JC board? I don't know. Do you? Perhaps you could be a bit more specific with what you perceive to be the problem. Then, if there is a problem, more of us can get behind you and try to get it fixed.

Submitted by civil on October 8, 2009 - 3:13pm.

Civil this is why I blog. I would like to know more about the two Election Boards. Bloggers like you many times come up with the answers I want to find with out leaving my shop or spending loads of time on the phone or computer. Thanks for your blog.   xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 9, 2009 - 8:33am.

Google before you type. That will help you answer a lot of quetions.

Submitted by civil on October 9, 2009 - 11:40am.

All Jackson County taxpayers fund both the Kansas City Elections Board to the tune of about $1 million and the Jackson County Elections Board for about $1.7 million (It goes up during busy election years). It comes right out of the general fund for Jackson County, which does not segregate revenues from Kansas Citians and revenue from everyone else.
You can't fold the KC Election Board into the Jackson County Election Board, because JC doesn't have jurisdiction over the other counties that are a part of the KCEB, and it would violate state law.
The only real way to consolidate would be to fold the Jackson County Elections Board into the bigger, multi-county Kansas City Elections Board, but honestly, I don't see that ever happening.
It basically comes down to the representatives that serve as election board commissioners. The two major parties have virtually no trust for each other within the county, and they trust representatives from outside the county even less. So if you're planning to spend time trying to change it, you should know that unfortunately you'll get about as much accomplished by running head first into a brick wall at top speed.
 
 

Submitted by PensivePete on October 9, 2009 - 9:17am.

Thanks PensivePete. It is nice to see the blogs working. It is why I like reading them. I like to see what other people are thinking and what they know to help make informed decisions.

Submitted by kilroy on October 9, 2009 - 3:14pm.

Pensive Pete looks like thats just how it is in Independence.   xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 9, 2009 - 10:51am.

So why in the world is this seen as a big waste of money? Lets worry about something that is real like the waste in the City budget and/or Police Department that was claimed during the police services tax election.

Submitted by civil on October 9, 2009 - 9:47am.

......erhh?...........in case one gets lost ,  we have a spare?............

eldoggg

Submitted by eldoggg on October 7, 2009 - 8:12pm.

Eldoggg your answer may be foolish and funny to most of us but the fact that we are foolish enough to pay two different boards is not to amusing. I Loved your blog it was a great laugh for my husband and I but how much money are we dumping into two election boards? How many places have two in the state of Mo.? Who in their right mind would want to pay twice for anything? I know this is Independence and many people think we can't do anything to change things but come on why should we except what we know is not right?   xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 6:33am.

Elisa........lol..........what does THIS mean?.............."I know this is Independence and many people think we can't do anything to change things but come on why should we except what we know is not right?   xox"..........is there something I should KNOW about the citizens of Independence?...........that makes us different than citizens of other cities?..............erhh?...............are we more stubborn?............more apathetic?...............or perhaps just more complacent?...............if so , I'm curious if this was just a personal thought or if there is something to support this observation............like we have a lower voter turnout than other cities our size..........just curious..........not trying to make trouble..............

eldoggg

Submitted by eldoggg on October 8, 2009 - 1:02pm.

Eldoggg I have have been told so many times over and over again that this is just how it is in this part of Independence. Broken windows with trash bags on them in cars. Broken store frounts that no one see's or reports to the police from all night long till after 8 A.M. It's normal to have bullet holes in our wiodows. It's normal for victims of crimes to be the only ones who pay for the crimes that happen to them. I am sorry but for my husband and I we don't find this normal at all. My husband always looks at this "Normal Story" as the way you cook a frog. You get them warm and keep warming them up till you have them cooked. Crime is truly all around us and in this part of town we are told by the IPD that we need to take the bull by the horns even after we solve our own crimes we have no place to turn. One day a group of us stood in a friends shop. Each of us had tears running down our face. One was a lady who is over a place called Mittelmans a furniture warehouse that takes care of many of the stores around Kansas City. Each of us cried with our friend who had come to work in a sea of glass and many of the things in his store was gone. The man who we feel took it had two eye witnesses who wanted to go to court for our friend. The eye witnesses are from two different businesses. Months have passed by. My friend is out One Hundred Ninety Six Thousand Dollars and then some. Who can work like a dog all day and even stay open at night to be robbed by a man with a criminal record a mile long. I have no idea how my friend still stands all on his own. What I have to say is this. If you always do what you've always done, You will always get what you've always got. This is not normal and we have to find answers for our community. To many of my friends have walked away from their businesses they have had for years in Independence because they too had to stand alone. I may stand alone telling these stories but I want to know why? Why do people feel this is normal? I hope that I have answered your questions. I feel what makes the citizens of Independence different is our city officials.   xox 

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 2:54pm.

.......OK........ask and ye shall receive.......what came to MY mind were  the concerned citizens of Susquehannah.........about the "Cler-Mont Fight Club"........as well as the "3/8 sales tax " issue that was squashed...as far as "citizens making a difference".......but I see your point about the businesses............sadly I  haven't been north of  23rd on 291 in 16 years........nor north of Truman Rd. and 23rd in the about the same ........I have to admit I would have pulled up stakes LONG ago had I been you or a business owner around you.........I just don't have the patience for it.........it's a sad state of affairs for Independence..............this is NOT acceptable...........maybe they need more law enforcement for YOUR area............heck the station isn't far from there now..............maybe they need another small sub station there.....more officers........more cars............more gang programs with community centers.........but where's the money coming from?...............not from the businesses or citizens that reside there.........so it looks like a "Mexican Standoff" to me.............no pun intended.........

eldoggg

Submitted by eldoggg on October 8, 2009 - 3:21pm.

What happens in our businesses district is not acceptable. Our store fronts should not set smashed out for hours and hours all over our parking lots. We should not be robbed of all our hope to the point that we feel like after our windows get smashed and destroyed for the 4th and 5th time their is no reason to fix them. The city has told us loud and clear by their actions they could care less about us over and over again. It is extremely sad when only we the victims pay for the crimes that happen to us. We need lights and cameras to uncover what we are dealing with. We need fundamental fairness across Independence with the same protection and respect for all. No matter how much money you dump at this what will change things is people who care. Money can't buy integrity and respect for people.   xox

 

Submitted by ELISA on October 9, 2009 - 10:25am.

U go girl, Nothin ever got done by goin along with the flow, Ask Questions and see if we can't save some $$ at every turn...... Remember the Movie "Dave" ???? One of my favorites.....  If we can quit wasting $$$$$$$$$$$$$
We can do the most with what we have.......   That is why this Goberment needs some fresh eyes.....

Submitted by mminnoe on October 8, 2009 - 10:22am.

xox

Submitted by ELISA on October 8, 2009 - 11:59am.