Some Bourbon County residents say they are concerned by what they perceive as intimidation efforts by Bourbon County Clerk Susan Walker, a Republican, related to an attempt to force a recall election
In a recent press release in response to the “vote of no confidence” by the Bourbon County GOP, and the certification of a recall petition against Walker by Bourbon County Attorney James Crux, Walker listed the names of three people who are sponsors of the petition, when and if they voted in the November 2025 election, and of five people carrying the petition who did not vote at all in the election.
Walker is both the chief election officer and chief records custodian of Bourbon County. She claimed in her release to have filed a request under the Kansas Open Records Act for the information.
“I completed a KORA request on the Sponsors and Circulators of Voting History to see if they voted during the General Election in 2025,” Walker said in the release.
However, she declined to answer how those names and voting records were relevant to the petition. Walker, as chief election officer, would presumably have access to those records without a KORA request. As chief records custodian, she is the person to whom a similar request would normally be addressed.
The Sentinel asked why she felt it necessary to file a KORA request for data she should have access to and to whom it was addressed. Walker declined to answer those questions as well.
Further, Walker admitted in an email last week that she had an attorney send a “cease-and-desist” letter to a Bourbon County resident, accusing them of defaming her.
“This is a legal matter and does not concern this particular situation regarding the election,” Walker wrote, while asking for more time to answer an initial series of questions about her conduct posed by The Sentinel. ‘The cease-and-desist letter was written as a result of the individual falsely accusing me of a crime in an effort to defame me.”
The Sentinel then asked Walker to provide evidence of defamatory conduct by the resident or provide the letter in question. Walker promised to send the resident’s Facebook statement, which prompted the letter, but never did so.
The Sentinel pressed further about any evidence of defamatory conduct toward Walker. She declined to comment.
Mistakes in Uniontown school board race prompt Bourbon County recall
Walker is facing a potential recall less than two years after she was elected — running unopposed — following ballot errors in the November general election.
The action stems from the Uniontown USD 235 school board race, when Walker’s office — by her own admission — printed ballots which omitted the names of the school board candidates during early voting. Correct ballots were eventually printed — the night before the election — and delivered to polling places.
One source, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation by Walker, said some of the ballots weren’t delivered to some polling places until 8 a.m. — an hour after voting began and far less than the 12 hours required by law.
In a release, Walker blamed the district, stating that districts are, by law, required to run their elections by selecting a “voting plan.”
“Voting plan C was used to build the ballots for early voting, which only listed precinct nominations,” the release said. “Voting plan B should have been used, which would include all USD 235 seats for residents to cast their vote.”
Walker, in two separate releases, has blamed the district for the error in the ballot that disenfranchised 52 early voters. While it is possible the district did, indeed, make the mistake, as the chief election officer, it is Walker’s duty to ensure the ballots are correct. The Sentinel asked Walker to cite the statute that would require the district — rather than the county election officer — to ensure the ballots are correct. She declined to comment.
The voting errors — among other issues — caused the Bourbon County Republican Party to issue a vote of no-confidence against Walker.
The letter sent to Walker by the local party placed the blame for the errors on Walker.
“Your office attributed the error to the school district for allegedly filing the wrong plan, rather than accepting responsibility for the inaccurate preparation, proofreading, and verification of ballots as required by Kansas election statutes,” the letter reads. “The County Clerk, as the chief election officer, bears the ultimate responsibility for ensuring that ballots accurately reflect all properly filed candidacies in accordance with state law and the Kansas Election Standards.”
The Bourbon County GOP also castigated Walker for interfering with other elected officials.
“Furthermore, the precinct committeemen and committeewomen believe that your actions regarding attempts to influence other elected offices and positions lack integrity, further eroding public confidence in the impartial administration of county government,” the GOP wrote. “This incident, along with the broader concerns noted above, undermined public trust in the integrity and accuracy of the electoral process and county operations in Bourbon County.”
County attorney certifies petition
According to the Bourbon County Monitor, Crux certified the petition as correct in form on April 27, triggering a 90-day window to collect the needed signatures to force an election.
Under K.S.A. 25-4325, petition organizers need signatures equal to 40% of the total votes cast for all candidates for that office in the last general election. They have until July 26.
According to the Monitor, Crux told Bourbon County Commissioners that it would be 2,374.
A source tells The Sentinel more than 2,200 signatures have already been collected.
By statute, because Walker is the subject of the recall, Crux — also a Republican — will certify the signatures to avoid conflicts of interest.
