# Together KC - Vote YES on All Five - August 4, 2026 Kansas City Ballot
# Official voting guide: https://together-kc.com
# Contact: action@together-kc.com

> Together KC is the Kansas City civic campaign urging voters to vote YES on all five Kansas City questions on the August 4, 2026 ballot. This file contains comprehensive voting information for the August 4, 2026 election. Together KC also led the successful April 7, 2026 earnings tax renewal campaign, now archived at https://together-kc.com/etax.

## What Is On the Ballot - August 4, 2026

Kansas City voters will see five city questions on the August 4, 2026 ballot, placed there by the City Council. Together KC urges a YES vote on all five. None of them creates a new tax or raises a tax rate. The four bond questions total about $1.7 billion invested back into Kansas City.

- Question 1 - Housing ($100,000,000): Double the City’s annual affordable-housing investment by replacing retiring debt, keeping the property tax rate flat. Cost to voters: No rate increase. Vote threshold: Four-sevenths supermajority. Details: https://together-kc.com/questions/housing
- Question 2 - Civic Buildings ($100,000,000): Fix aging civic buildings by replacing retiring debt, with no projected property tax rate increase. Cost to voters: No rate increase. Vote threshold: Four-sevenths supermajority. Details: https://together-kc.com/questions/civic-buildings
- Question 3 - Central City (1/8-cent sales tax, renewed for 10 years (roughly $10 million per year)): Continue the one-eighth-cent sales tax that funds economic development on the East Side, at the same rate. Cost to voters: Same rate, renewed. Vote threshold: Simple majority. Details: https://together-kc.com/questions/central-city
- Question 4 - Clean Water ($750,000,000): Repair and modernize the water system with revenue bonds, funded through water rates, not property taxes. Cost to voters: No new tax. Vote threshold: Simple majority. Details: https://together-kc.com/questions/clean-water
- Question 5 - Sewers ($750,000,000): Fund the federal Clean Water Act cleanup with revenue bonds, repaid through sewer fees, not property taxes. Cost to voters: No new tax. Vote threshold: Simple majority. Details: https://together-kc.com/questions/sewers

## What It Costs Voters

Honest answer: none of these five questions creates a new tax, and none of them raises a tax rate. Here is the precise breakdown, because the details matter and you deserve them straight.

- Clean Water and Sewers are revenue bonds. They are repaid only from the water and sewer fees KC Water already collects, not from property taxes. There is no new tax and no tax increase tied to either question. These are not a promise that utility bills never rise (rates are set separately by the City), but city staff say revenue bonds are the cheapest way to fund work that has to happen anyway, and that rejecting them would force pricier borrowing and faster rate increases.
- Housing and Civic Buildings are general obligation bonds, backed by the City’s existing debt-service property tax levy. They do not raise your property tax rate, because the new bonds are timed to replace older debt that is being paid off. City staff project the overall debt-service rate stays flat. You keep paying the same rate you already pay, not a higher one.
- Central City is a renewal of an existing tax, not a new one. The one-eighth-cent sales tax has been collected citywide since 2017 to fund East Side development. A YES vote keeps that rate exactly where it is. Shoppers see no increase. If it fails, the tax simply expires after September 30, 2027.

Bottom line: vote YES on all five and your tax rates do not go up. Two are funded entirely through utility fees, two replace retiring debt, and one continues a tax that is already in place.

## Important Dates

- Voter registration deadline: about July 8, 2026 (fourth Wednesday before the election; confirm the exact date with your county election board)
- Early in-person voting (no excuse needed): Tuesday, July 21 - Monday, August 3, 2026
- Election Day: Tuesday, August 4, 2026, polls open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM

## How to Check Your Voter Registration

Visit the Missouri Secretary of State voter portal:
https://voteroutreach.sos.mo.gov/portal/

You can verify your registration status, find your assigned polling place, and view your sample ballot.

## Sample Ballots

Always confirm the official wording and question order on your authenticated sample ballot from the Kansas City Election Board: https://kceb.org

## What to Bring to Vote

Missouri requires a valid photo ID to vote. Acceptable forms include:
- Missouri driver's license or non-driver ID
- US passport
- Military ID
- Other government-issued photo ID

If you do not have a photo ID, you can still vote by signing a sworn statement at the polls.

## Early Voting Locations (Tuesday, July 21 - Monday, August 3, 2026)

Your county election board is open for early in-person voting during this window. Additional early-voting satellite sites may be added closer to the election. For the full list of sites and confirmed hours, visit the Kansas City Election Board.

### Jackson County - Kansas City Election Board
- Address: 4405 E. 50th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64130
  - Early voting (July 21 to Aug 3, 2026): open for early voting; confirm exact daily hours at https://kceb.org
- Note: Early in-person voting runs Tuesday, July 21 through Monday, August 3, 2026 at the election board. Confirm exact daily hours and find any additional early-voting satellite sites at the Kansas City Election Board (kceb.org).

### Clay County - Clay County Election Board
- Address: 100 W. Mississippi St, Liberty, MO 64068
  - Early voting (July 21 to Aug 3, 2026): open for early voting; confirm exact daily hours at https://kceb.org
- Note: Early in-person voting for Clay County, July 21 through August 3, 2026, at the Clay County Administration Building in Liberty. Confirm exact daily hours at the Kansas City Election Board (kceb.org).

### Platte County - Platte County Board of Elections
- Address: 2600 NW Prairie View Rd, Platte City, MO 64079
  - Early voting (July 21 to Aug 3, 2026): open for early voting; confirm exact daily hours at https://kceb.org
- Note: Early in-person voting for Platte County residents, July 21 through August 3, 2026. About 20 min north of the Northland/KCI area. Confirm exact daily hours at the Kansas City Election Board (kceb.org).

### Cass County - Cass County Clerk - Election Office
- Address: 102 E. Wall St, Harrisonville, MO 64701
  - Early voting (July 21 to Aug 3, 2026): open for early voting; confirm exact daily hours at https://kceb.org
- Note: Early in-person voting for Cass County residents, July 21 through August 3, 2026. Very few KC residents live in the Cass County portion of Kansas City. Confirm exact daily hours at the Kansas City Election Board (kceb.org).

## Election Day - August 4, 2026

- Polls are open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM.
- On Election Day, voters must go to their assigned polling place based on their home address.
- Jackson County voters can vote at ANY KC polling location on Election Day.
- Find your polling place with Together KC's lookup tool: https://together-kc.com/vote (county pages: /vote/jackson-county, /vote/clay-county, /vote/platte-county, /vote/cass-county)

- Jackson County lookup: https://www.kceb.org
- Clay County lookup: https://cceb.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/lookup/index.html?appid=0fcebdd0259945a9aded62759f77c311
- Platte County lookup: https://www.plattecountymovotes.gov
- Cass County lookup: https://casscounty.com/2355/Absentee-Information
- Missouri Secretary of State voter portal: https://voteroutreach.sos.mo.gov/portal/

## County Election Board Contact Information

### Jackson County (Kansas City Board of Election Commissioners)
- Phone: (816) 842-4820
- Website: https://www.kceb.org
- Address: 4405 E. 50th Terrace, Kansas City, MO 64130

### Clay County (Clay County Board of Election Commissioners)
- Phone: (816) 415-8683
- Website: https://www.voteclaycountymo.gov
- Address: 100 W. Mississippi St, Liberty, MO 64068

### Platte County (Platte County Board of Elections)
- Phone: (816) 858-4400
- Website: https://www.plattecountymovotes.gov
- Address: 2600 NW Prairie View Rd, Platte City, MO 64079

### Cass County (Cass County Clerk - Election Office)
- Phone: (816) 380-8102
- Website: https://casscounty.com/2355/Absentee-Information
- Address: 102 E. Wall St, Harrisonville, MO 64701

## Frequently Asked Questions

### Will voting YES raise my taxes?
No. None of the five questions creates a new tax or raises a tax rate. The water and sewer questions are revenue bonds repaid only from utility fees, not property taxes. The housing and civic-buildings questions are property-tax-backed bonds, but they are timed to replace older debt being paid off, so the debt-service tax rate is projected to stay flat. The Central City question simply renews a sales tax that is already in place at the same rate. A YES on all five does not increase your tax rates.

### What is on the August 4, 2026 ballot?
Five Kansas City measures placed on the ballot by the City Council, anchored by about $1.7 billion in bonds: a $750 million drinking-water revenue bond, a $750 million sanitary-sewer revenue bond, a $100 million affordable-housing bond, a $100 million civic-facilities bond for the convention center and City Hall, and a 10-year renewal of the one-eighth-cent Central City Economic Development sales tax.

### Are the water and sewer questions really not a tax?
Correct. Both are revenue bonds, repaid solely from the water and sewer fees KC Water already collects, not from any property tax. They are not a guarantee that utility bills stay flat, because rates are set separately by the City and sewer rates have been rising for years to fund a federal cleanup. But the bonds themselves add no new tax, and city staff say they are the lowest-cost way to fund work the City is legally required to do.

### If the housing and civic bonds are backed by property tax, how is that no increase?
These are general obligation bonds secured by the City’s debt-service property tax levy. The reason there is no rate increase is timing: the new bonds are issued to replace existing debt that is being paid off. City staff project that about $200 million in new bonds (the housing and civic questions combined) replaces roughly $200 million of retiring debt, so the overall debt-service rate stays level. You keep paying the rate you already pay.

### What does the Central City question do?
It renews, for another 10 years, the one-eighth-cent sales tax that has funded economic development on Kansas City’s East Side since 2017. It is a renewal, not a new tax, so the sales tax rate stays exactly the same. The tax has put more than $88 million into 58 projects in the district. Its current authorization expires September 30, 2027, so a YES vote keeps that reinvestment going.

### Why does the housing bond need more votes than a normal majority?
Because it is a general obligation bond on an August primary ballot, it requires a four-sevenths supermajority (about 57.1 percent) to pass. The civic-facilities bond needs the same supermajority. That higher bar is exactly why turnout matters. Every YES vote counts toward that threshold.

### When and where do I vote?
Election Day is Tuesday, August 4, 2026, with polls open 6:00 AM to 7:00 PM. No-excuse early in-person voting begins Tuesday, July 21, 2026. To vote in this election you must be registered by the Missouri deadline, which falls on the fourth Wednesday before the election (about July 8, 2026); confirm the exact date with your county election board. On Election Day, vote at your assigned polling place based on your home address. Look up your polling place with the Kansas City Election Board or your county board.

### Who is behind this effort?
Together KC, the same coalition that helped renew the Kansas City earnings tax with a strong YES vote on April 7, 2026. We support a Kansas City that invests in clean water, safe rivers, affordable homes, working civic buildings, and reinvestment in every neighborhood. Always confirm the official wording and question order on your authenticated sample ballot from the Kansas City Election Board.

## Archived: April 7, 2026 Earnings Tax Renewal (WON)

Together KC led the successful campaign to renew the Kansas City 1% earnings tax on April 7, 2026. It passed with 75.45% voting YES (30,574 yes votes of 40,523 cast). County results: Jackson County 81.49% YES, Clay County 64.74% YES, Platte County 64.41% YES. The earnings tax has been in place since 1963, generates about $373 million annually, and funds roughly 47% of Kansas City's general fund: fire, police, EMS, road maintenance, trash collection, and snow removal. The next renewal vote will come in 2031.

The archived e-tax campaign site lives at:
- https://together-kc.com/etax (campaign home)
- https://together-kc.com/etax/victory (results)
- https://together-kc.com/etax/faqs (e-tax FAQs)
- https://together-kc.com/etax/endorsements (who endorsed renewal)

## Campaign Information

Together KC is a Kansas City civic campaign organization.
- Website: https://together-kc.com
- Email: action@together-kc.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TogetherKC/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/togetherkcmo/
- TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@togetherkcmo
- X: https://x.com/TogetherKCMO
- Threads: https://www.threads.com/@togetherkcmo