Source: Twitter / Quinton Lucas
Across the country, many people continue to face challenges to voting and on Tuesday, even the Kansas City mayor couldn’t cast his ballot.
According to The Kansas City Star, Mayor Quinton Lucas was just making videos urging people to get out and vote in Missouri’s primary elections. However, when he arrived at the polls, he was turned away and told he “wasn’t in the system,” according to a tweet from the mayor.
“I made a video this morning about the importance of voting and then got turned away because I wasn’t in the system even though I’ve voted there for 11 years, including for myself four times!” Lucas wrote.
Lucas tried to vote before 7 a.m. at Mount Pleasant Baptist Church where he said he’s voted since 2009. The poll worker looked up Lucas’ name using a utility bill he brought but he couldn’t find Lucas, making it seem like he wasn’t registered.
“A lot of people won’t come back either because they have to go to work or because it has the opportunity to be a slightly embarrassing experience,” Lucas said.
Lauri Ealom, the Democratic director of the Kansas City Board of Elections, said the poll worker swapped Lucas’ first and last name. “He put his last name in as his first name and his first name in as his last name,” she said.
Ealom said nobody else had been turned away from Lucas’ polling site and that voting commenced smoothly as of early Tuesday morning. This didn’t qualm Lucas’ frustration, however.
In a follow-up tweet he wrote, “By the way, me writing ‘but that’s okay,’ was me being Midwestern and passive aggressive. It’s really not okay. Talked to the election director this AM and will be following up further.”
Mayor Lucas isn’t the only person who faced issues Tuesday morning. In Grand Rapids, Michigan, a polling site was suddenly changed “due to unforeseen circumstances,” according to WOODTV.com. People across social media have also listed issues of voter suppression.
“Voter Suppression is real why I get to the polling place and they say I’ve never been registered to vote in [sic] michigan,” one Twitter user wrote. “I’ve voted at least four times since I was 18.”
Another Twitter user said that candidates who dropped out the race were still on her ballot.
“Very disappointed with my voting experience this morning,” they started. “Every prior candidate still on the list. Not 2, not 6, EVERY SINGLE ONE. Let’s hope voters of Michigan are informed and don’t waste their vote on a box for a candidate that dropped out. Indirect voter suppression.”
Once again, long lines were also an issue for voters.
“We’re still in line in Ann Arbor,” one Twitter user wrote along with a video of people waiting in a long line. “Michiganders, I know the lines are long but please stay in them!!! #MichiganPrimary.“
In the words of Mayor Lucas’ latest tweet, “If the mayor can get turned away, think about everyone else… We gotta do better.”
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