A judge has ruled Johnson County election officials must turn over a list of voters whose ballots were marked as provisional or rejected because their signature didn’t match voter records.

The ACLU sued on behalf of Davis Hammet of the voter advocacy group Loud Light. Johnson County election workers denied his request for the list of voters after the closely contested primaries last year.

Hammet said making the lists public will help advocacy groups like his ensure every vote is counted.

“It not only means that we can help contact people when they have an issue," Hammet said. "It means that now the county clerks and the county elections officials know that they have to be completely transparent.”

The race between Kris Kobach and Jeff Colyer in the GOP primary for governor was decided by fewer than 350 votes statewide, and the results in pivotal Johnson County were delayed.

Stephen Koranda is Statehouse reporter for Kansas Public Radio, a partner in the Kansas News Service. Follow him on Twitter @kprkoranda. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post. To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.