Under state law, Johnson County leaders have no say over who gets hired — or fired — as the county election commissioner, despite the fact that the office is financed entirely by funds from Johnson County taxpayers.
“That statute was that they have complete authority and we have no authority,” County Chair Ed Eilert said. It was concerns about the possible politicization of the election offices of Kansas’s most populous counties that led the state legislature to pass a law giving the secretary of state full authority over Johnson County’s election office — including naming the election commissioner — some decades ago.
But in the wake of the abuses of the office under Newby’s leadership and a tight gubernatorial election earlier this month that featured Kobach, the sitting secretary of state, as a candidate, the rules surrounding oversight and and management of the Johnson County election office are attracting renewed scrutiny.
Following Newby’s departure, Johnson County and the other more urban counties that have their election commissioners appointed by the secretary of state’s office pushed for a legislative change that would return a modicum of oversight authority to the county level. Changes that went into effect early this summer give Johnson County’s Board of County Commissioners the authority to approve the election office’s annual budget and require that all election office employees abide by the county government’s personnel policies.
“Prior to the legislation, all financial operations for our county office were up to the secretary of state,” Eilert said. “That has changed. What has not changed is that the secretary of state still has the authority to hire the election commissioner.”
(Read more: Shawnee Mission Post – Community news and events for northeast Johnson County)