KC Mayor Runs Into Problems Trying to Vote in Primary

The mayor of Kansas City struggled to vote Tuesday in the Missouri presidential primary after a poll worker mistakenly transposed his first and last names while searching for him in the voter rolls.

Mayor Quinton Lucas, a Democrat, made a video about the importance of voting before he headed into his normal polling location, Mount Pleasant Baptist Church. He said a worker could not find his name in the system Tuesday morning, even though he had cast ballots for himself at the site several times during 11 years of voting there.

Lucas said he was offered the chance to cast a provisional ballot but decided to try to sort out the situation and return later in the day. He later learned the worker had entered his name into the system as "Lucas Quinton." The mayor returned Tuesday afternoon and successfully voted.

"I think frankly this is a sign that we need to do much better," Lucas said in a phone interview with The Associated Press.

Kansas City Elections Director Shawn Kieffer, a Republican, said a poll worker assigned to work out problems likely could have resolved the situation relatively quickly, but Lucas left the polling site Tuesday morning within a matter of minutes.

Lucas said his situation highlights a concern.

"I think the biggest threat to America's elections is not letting people vote, and I think we saw a little of that challenge today," he said.

Lucas initially thought the problem was he was using his utility bill for identification instead of his driver's licence, which has expired. He said most people would not have had the pull to figure out what happened.

"A regular person would just say, 'I guess I'm not on the voter rolls,'" he said.

Kieffer confirmed an election judge entered Lucas' name incorrectly and then did not immediately realize the mistake. He described the situation with Lucas as an "anomaly," noting he had not heard of any other issues.