Smack dab in the middle of the continent, this part of America is called the Great Plains for its topographical features but might as well be, at election time, its plainness.
Well, at least compared to the electorally competitive bigger states like Florida, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, or Arizona.
In historical and competitive contexts, Kansas is nothing if not staid when it comes to the election season which will conclude (hopefully!) by the time you read this.
A reliably Republican state except for occasionally electing Democratic governors, this state in the heartland will handily vote for Donald Trump for president, re-elect Republican majorities in the state legislature, and, outside of the half a dozen urban regions, send Republicans to the offices of mayors, county commissioners, prosecutors, and local judges.
There may be a bit of a contest for the open United States Senate seat and a few local races like those that friends of mine are running in for county treasurer and district judge.
But the smart money is on the status quo of Republican dominance at almost every level prevailing.
With a third of the voters having already cast their ballots early via early voting facilities, Election Day in Kansas, like in most states, is really the coda to the election month.
This will likely mean that as voters trudge to the polling stations set around their cities and counties, they will likely see tolerable wait times and good management of social distancing rules in this pandemic-hued election.
Unlike in previous years when every street corner in my city was festooned with dozens of yard signs, this Covid year, there is only a handful at each crossing.
Nor should one expect too much drama when polls close in the evening and ballots are tabulated: barring a major technical glitch -- as happened in the 2018 governor’s primary election -- unofficial tallies are likely to be counted and posted by Wednesday morning and few observers expect protracted legal challenges, never mind violence, to seriously jeopardize the process.
In other words, the 2020 general election in the great state of Kansas is eerily anti-climactic when put in the context of the battles royale over balloting, counting, and election litigation that are raging in the bigger states to the east, south, and southwest of us.
They don’t call these the ‘plains’ for nothing.
