The three-day grace period for counting advance mail ballots ends after the current election cycle.
The Kansas House and Senate voted overwhelmingly to override Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of Senate Bill 4, meaning advance mail ballots must be at election offices across the state by 7 pm on Election Day rather than the following Friday to be counted. Kelly says the bill will disenfranchise voters, but Republican supporters say it’s a simple vote security issue.
Among those in favor were 17th District Senator Mike Argabright of Olpe, 13th District Representative Duane Droge of Eureka and 76th District Representative Brad Barrett of Osage City. Voting against was 60th District Representative Mark Schreiber of Emporia.
At the federal level, President Donald Trump has signed an executive order bringing major changes to federal election policy, including a provision to have all ballots received by Election Day and another demanding documentary proof of citizenship as a requirement to register to vote. Legal challenges are likely because the US Constitution says Congress has the power to regulate voting, while states can set “times, places and manner” of elections.
