Secretary of State Kris Kobach says this election will break records in Kansas. Kobach predicts 72 percent of registered voters will cast ballots, which is a jump from 67 percent in 2012.
If his estimate rings true, that would be an all-time-high 1.3 million votes.
Kobach says turnout is being driven by tight legislative races and what he calls an “unusual” presidential race.
“Some people think it’s unusual in a good way, some people think it’s unusual in a bad way. One very positive effect has been voter interest is extremely high in 2016,” says Kobach.
Kobach is basing his estimate on high early voting numbers.
“The best indicator is the flow of advance ballots coming in. Right now we are 80,000 advance votes ahead of where we were at this time in 2012,” says Kobach
Kansas also now has the largest number of registered voters in the state’s history, with more than 1.8 million.