The Douglas County District Court ruling reinstating a 3-day grace period for mail ballots to return to county courthouses after next week’s primary election is standing for now.
The Kansas Court of Appeals has issued a 4-page ruling to keep the grace period in place after the Kansas Legislature voted last year to do away with the extra time and make sure ballots had to be received at election offices no later than a given Election Day, following nearly a decade of using the grace period as the mail ballot standard. It also follows a legal challenge from Kansas Appleseed against current Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew to return to 2017 procedures. Schwab had specifically argued a temporary injunction from Douglas County District Court earlier this month would be confusing to voters, but the appellate court says irreparable harm in votes possibly not being counted “outweighs the administrative burden of counting the mail-in ballots received within three days after Election Day.”
The ruling does not address questions about constitutionality. While it denies an emergency stay as Schwab requested, it does grant his motion for an expedited review.
