Advance ballots were missing 1st District Reform candidate's name
Associated Press

LIBERAL, Kan. - The name of the Reform Party candidate running against Rep. Jerry Moran was found to be missing from hundreds of advance ballots in Seward County.

However, his name will appear on the ballot Tuesday. The county, which uses touch-screen voting machines, was able to fix the problem Thursday, when the omission was discovered.

"That'll be OK. Appreciate that," Sylvester Cain, who is running in Kansas 1st Congressional District against Moran, R-Hays, and Democrat John Doll, of Garden City, said when told about the problem and fix.

If Cain were to win, he would have to move from his home in St. Marys, which is outside of the district.

Cain's name being left off the ballots is "really unfortunate," said Joseph Martin, a Reform Party candidate for secretary of state. He noted that appearing on the ballot is an important part of running for office.

It's not clear why Cain's name was omitted, Seward County Clerk Stacia Long said. She contacted the secretary of state's office after The Hutchinson News asked about the matter.

Long said she was told to promptly correct the matter, which she did. However, she said, nothing could be done about the already cast votes - 405 of them from in-person voters and 104 from mail-in voters.

An additional 91 advance ballots missing Cain's name were sent out and have not yet been mailed back.

The county is required to send all candidates a proof-of-publication to confirm their names are on the ballots. Officials said no notice was sent to Cain, and he didn't call inquire about it.