Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday in Kansas legislative primaries

After weeks of intense campaigning that has filled local mailboxes with often heated rhetoric, the 2012 state legislature primaries have nearly arrived.

Just a reminder that polls open Tuesday at 7 a.m. If you need to find your voting location, check out the Johnson County Election Office’s lookup tool. The tool will also provide you with a sample ballot, so you can see which house and senate district you’re in.

For background on many of the candidates vying for spots from local legislative districts on the general election ballot this November, check out responses to our candidates questionnaire below.

1) In 2011, Kansas cut the amount of basic aid it provides to public schools by close to 6 percent. Where do you stand on public school funding? Is the current amount of aid sufficient? Should the school funding formula be altered? If so, how?

2.) State fiscal analysts project the tax bill signed by Gov. Sam Brownback in May could produce deficits reaching $2.5 billion by 2018. What specific government programs or services would you cut to balance the budget?

3.) Do you think the state has a responsibility to ensure that all residents have access to adequate health care? Do you support the state creating a health care exchange under the Affordable Care Act?

4.) Over the past five years, Kansas has provided roughly half a billion in tax breaks and other incentives to lure business here or keep them from moving across the state line. Do you support the use of taxpayer revenues to engage in this “economic border war”?

5.) What is the biggest issue facing the state today, and what specific steps would you take to address it in Topeka if elected?