Election Canvass Complete in Cloud County
The Cloud County Commission on Monday, November 21st met to canvass the results of the General Election held on Tuesday, November 8th.
The county saw a 54.8 percent voter turnout with a total of 3,229 ballots.
Incumbent Marsha Wentz and Challenger Amy Jackson have been elected to serve in the next term on the Concordia City Commission.
Jackson, co-owner of Republican Valley Landscape, received the most votes with 997 votes. Wentz came in second with 780 votes. Challenger Troy Hardacre, co-owner of Hardacre Crop Insurance Services, finished third overall with 566 votes.
Three-term commissioner Christy Hasch did not seek re-election, leaving one open position up for grabs on the commission this year.
Jackson and Wentz will be sworn-in at the commission's regular meeting on Wednesday, December 21st.
Mark Matthew of Concordia won election to the First District position on the Cloud County Commission with 982 votes. Matthew, who won the GOP nomination by just 45 votes over two-term Incumbent Bill Czapanskiy in the August Primary Election, faced no Democratic opposition in the General Election.
Matthew will take his seat on January 9, 2023.
The First District seat was the only position on the commission up for election this year. The First District Commissioner represents Starr, Colfax, Shirley, Nelson, Elk, North & South Lawrence, Sibley, Aurora and Oakland townships, as well as the 1st Ward of Concordia.
Last Friday, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab announced that all 105 Kansas counties have completed their post-election audit. Post-election audits are required by state law and took place for the first time in Kansas under the Schwab administration in 2019. The purpose of a post-election audit is to ensure the ballot count is identical to the tabulator vote count.
"A post-election audit is another check and balance to ensure integrity of Kansas elections," said Secretary Schwab. "It gives voters assurance their vote was counted and that election results can be trusted."
Following the completion of each audit, counties are required to submit the results to the Secretary of State's office for final approval. All 105 counties have completed their audit successfully.