Kansas Senate bill would set Election Day deadline for mail-in ballots [View all]
TOPEKA — Legislation proposed in the Kansas Senate would end the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots, requiring them to be received by 7 p.m on Election Day to be counted, regardless of postage date.
Senate Bill 4 is similar to one Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed in 2023, and introduced last year. The Legislature adopted the three-day grace period for ballots postmarked by Election Day in a near-unanimous vote in 2017 after then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach asked the Legislature to pass the law in response to slow U.S. Postal Service delivery.
Former Rep. Ann Mah, a Topeka Democrat, said the bill is “pure partisan politics” during a Wednesday hearing before the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee.
Mah pointed to statistics showing that far more Democrats than Republicans use mail-in ballots, and the bill’s lack of funding for an education program that would inform citizens of the change. She said more Democratic votes would be rejected than Republican votes.
“If you make this change and do not fund an edition program you’re intentionally causing thousands of votes to be thrown out,” Mah said. “That’s voter suppression.”
https://kansasreflector.com/2025/01/23/kansas-senate-bill-would-set-election-day-deadline-for-mail-in-ballots/
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