The April 1 election will include appointments to city councils in Great Bend, Hoisington and Ellinwood and to the Ellinwood Hospital District Board of Directors. Great Bend voters will also decide whether to extend a half-cent sales tax, which is set to end on April 1, 2015.
A “yes” vote on the question is a vote to continue the tax for 10 more years. A “no” vote is a vote to allow the tax to end.
First approved by city voters in 2000, 35 percent of the tax goes to property tax reduction, 45 percent to capital improvement projects and 20 percent goes to economic development.
According to information shared at a city council meeting in February, the tax has generated between $1.4 million and $1.9 million each year, about 10 percent of the city’s budget. Capital improvements have mostly been street work and Fire Department equipment.
The city also has a quarter-cent sales tax, approved in 2008, that is exclusively for streets. It is not included in the upcoming election question.
Names on the ballot for Great Bend City Council are: First ward, Victoria Berryman; Second ward, Joel Jackson; Third ward, no candidate; Fourth ward, Erika Jo Julian.
Those on the ballot for Hoisington City Council are: First ward, Nancy D. Farmer; Second ward, James Sekavec; Third ward, Karen VanBrimmer; Fourth ward, Brian K. Wilborn.
Ellinwood residents will vote to fill three city council positions. There are four names on the ballot: Kirk Clawson, Kathleen Marie Hines, Kenneth Lebbin and Rick Wilson.
Those residing in the Ellinwood Hospital District will vote on up to two board of trustees members. Candidates on the ballot are Leah Dannebohm and Marvin Sessler. The district includes all of Lakin Township and part of Comanche Township.
Darin DeWitt, voter registration clerk at the Barton County Clerk’s Office, noted that advanced voting is now available. Residents can cast advance votes in the Barton County Clerk’s Office, on the second floor of the Barton County Courthouse at 1400 Main in Great Bend, until noon Monday, March 31.

No voting is done in the office on election day, April 1. That’s when balloting will take place at the various polling stations from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Any registered voter may contact the county clerk’s office either by mail, by phone or in person for an application. However, anyone requesting an advanced ballot must provide photo identification.
Applications may also be downloaded from the Barton County website at bartoncounty.org. In the menu bar go to Departments, then choose Elections in the pull-down menu. Then find “Advance Vote” in the menu for that page. The Advance Voting Application Form and the Affidavit Of Assistance Form are available. Signed applications may be delivered or mailed to the office, or faxed to 620-793-1990.
Upon receipt of a completed and signed application, the County Clerk’s office will provide that voter with a ballot. However, an individual cannot apply for a ballot for another voter.
 An application for an advanced ballot for someone who is sick/disabled/illiterate may be filed during the regular advanced ballot application period until the close of polls on the day of the election.
All advanced ballots must be delivered to the County Election Officer before the polls close. Ballots will not be counted until election day.