The Kansas sheriff known for baselessly propagating lies around the 2020 presidential election suggested this month that his staff could pick up ballots around Johnson County in unmarked vehicles, according to a memo written by the county’s chief legal counsel. In her letter, attorney Peg Trent summarized a private meeting on July 5 between Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden and local election officials. In addition to Hayden’s proposal to collect ballots, she wrote, a staffer from his office asked that sheriff’s deputies be present at the local elections office to observe ballot counting for upcoming elections. Trent expressed alarm about a number of his proposals in the letter, which was addressed to Hayden. “As we discussed, my concern is that these requests give the appearance that the Sheriff’s office is attempting to interfere with an election,” she wrote, according to The Kansas City Star. Hayden has made no specific allegations regarding the validity of the 2020 election, but has said for months that his office is investigating election fraud, without offering evidence or details.
