Latest news with #ClayCountyElectionBoard
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Clay County voters experiencing issues at polling sites
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Some Clay County voters claim to have run into issues at some polling sites Tuesday morning. The Clay County Election Board said in a statement that it discovered 64 ballot styles that contained ballots in which the same races appeared on the front and the back of the ballot. The ballots should have only been one-sided. The Board had correctly programmed the tabulators not to accept such a ballot. Human remains found in 1973 identified as missing Kansas City, Kansas teen According to the Clay County Election Board, voters were still able to cast their ballots at the opening of the polls, and those will be counted. The Board also instructed poll workers to provide voters with alternative options. The election board says the incorrect ballots with races on both sides had an 'X' marked through the duplicate races to minimize confusion. Despite those efforts, some Liberty residents say they are concerned about how their vote is being counted. 'I personally called the Clay County Election Board and told them that there were problems here. So I live in Liberty, and I'm a resident here, and I care about the people,' said Liberty resident Susan Wayne. Gieselle Fest is challenging incumbent Liberty Mayor Greg Canuteson in the General Municipal Election. Fest spent the day talking with voters near the Liberty Church of Christ polling location. 'I've had voters come out very unhappy and very upset. They're not sure if their ballots are going to be counted. Apparently, it's printed twice on two sides, which is unacceptable. All electronic machines are not working. That's unacceptable,' Fest said. 'We're trying to get people to vote in Liberty. We have a town of 32,000. Regrettably, in (past) April (elections), we only had 3,000 votes. So, people are concerned about election integrity. And this just makes people panic,' Fest said. Susan Wayne spent much of the day near a different voting location in Liberty and said she heard similar complaints. Lawsuit filed after Kansas City metro man, DACA recipient is deported to Mexico 'I've been here since six this morning, and this morning for at least a half hour, people were griping, complaining that the voting machines were not working. And in 2025, computers should work and be in proper working order,' Wayne said. The Clay County Election Board said it is conducting an investigation into the vendor who provided the double-sided ballots. The early votes that had double-sided ballots will be inspected and counted by bipartisan teams to ensure correct tabulation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Former Clay County election director facing felony fraud charges
LIBERTY, Mo. — A Clay County woman who was wanted for fraud was arrested more than a thousand miles away in Montana. Patricia 'Patty' Lamb, the former Clay County Republican Election Director, faces felony charges of fraud and fraudulent use of a credit device stemming from an October 2023 investigation. Court documents accuse Lamb of stealing more than $15,000 from Clay County during her time with the Election Board. That includes $8,126 in non-business-related charges and charges with no receipts, $1,336 in expense reimbursements for mileage that had no supporting documentation, $200 in petty cash payments, and $6,278.40 from two unexplained payroll checks. Former Leavenworth mom charged in relation to baby's death It started in September 2023 when someone with the Clay County Election Board discovered Lamb made charges to her business credit card that had nothing to do with the Election Office. Board members put her on leave a month later and hired Fox Forensic Accounting to complete a forensic audit report on Lamb's expense reports, credit card statements, and payroll from 2021 to 2024. She was ultimately terminated in January 2024. From there, a warrant was issued for her arrest after she failed to appear in court in the fall of 2024. Court documents state authorities tried to contact her for an interview but felt she may have left the area or state. Police in Belgrade, Montana took her into custody after being contacted by the Clay County Sheriff's Office. It's not clear what Lamb was doing in Montana when she was arrested on Wednesday, February 19. The Clay County Election Board sent FOX 4 a statement, which said: 'The Clay County Board of Election Commissioners in a financial review discovered what appeared to be questionable transactions being made. The Board conducted an initial investigation. Based on the investigation, the Board took immediate, appropriate, temporary and permanent personnel action. Further, the Board contracted with an outside forensic accounting firm for a comprehensive financial review. Irregularities were discovered. Additionally, the Board conducted an in-depth review of job responsibilities-which resulted in increased oversight in Board operations. The Board forwarded the information gathered on the irregularities to the Clay County Sheriff's Office.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
