TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has named a former state House member as the top elections official in one of the state’s most populous counties.
The appointment of 43-year-old Andrew Howell as Shawnee County election commissioner was announced Monday. Howell replaces Elizabeth Ensley Deiter,who stepped down last week to become a magistrate judge for four northeast Kansas counties.
Shawnee County is home to the city of Topeka and the state Capitol.
Howell runs a small home-renovation company in the Topeka area. He served in the Kansas House from 1995 through 2004. He is a Republican like Kobach.
Elections in most Kansas counties are run by elected clerks. But Kansas law requires the secretary of state to appoint election commissioners for the state’s four most populous counties.
