What is KS Secretary of State Scott Schwab up to?
- Stand Up Blue Valley
- Dec 21, 2025
- 2 min read
Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman, who’s held the position since appointed by Schwab in 2021, resigned this week with this statement: “I was given the option to resign or be terminated from the position, and I elected to resign.”
Per the Post article: “Schwab did not give a reason for the decision to change the county’s top election leadership. But Sherman said Thursday morning that it amounted to a difference on an election policy issue that he did not want to disclose.
The issue had to do with an election procedure the county has been using since before Sherman took office, he said.”
Voters elect their County Election Commissioners in Kansas - EXCEPT in counties with over 125,000 people. In those, the Election Commissioner is appointed by the Secretary of State. A search committee including the chair of the county commission will search for candidates - but the appointment is made by the SOS. The applicant must be at least a 2-year KS resident (but not specifically JoCo) and must move to JoCo by the time they start the job.
While in office, Fred Sherman worked to make voting easier for Johnson County voters. Extreme Republicans have worked against making voting easier.
Sherman was a proponent of drop boxes to facilitate mail ballot returns. Sherman mailed out applications for advance ballots to help voters who wanted to vote by mail. Sherman expanded early in-person voting locations in JoCo.
Election-deniers and election conspiracy theorists in JoCo and statewide have falsely alleged voter irregularities have occurred with voting by mail and drop boxes. They have produced no evidence to support these claims.
The next Election Commissioner will oversee voting accessibility and counting of ballots in the Aug. 2026 primary and Nov. 2026 general elections (and beyond).
Scott Schwab, KS Secretary of State, is running for Governor - and the August 2026 primary election results in JoCo will be consequential for him.
Legislators have placed yet another Constitutional Amendment on the August 2026 primary ballot - this one would change the way KS Supreme Court justices are selected to a statewide vote.
Kansas will elect a new Governor in Nov. 2026 - with a large percentage of votes coming from JoCo.
Johnson County Commission Chair Mike Kelly will have a say as a member of the committee searching for the new commissioner - but the SOS office will outnumber county representation on the committee, and the appointment will be made by Schwab. We’d really like to hear more from Fred Sherman on the exact nature of the policy disagreement that caused his ouster.
If you don’t subscribe to the Johnson County Post, we recommend it. It’s a good investment in knowing what’s going on in our community.
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