Kansas lawmakers move to limit ballot boxes, mail in voting ahead of midterm elections
Responding to unfounded claims of voter fraud, the Kansas Senate voted early Thursday morning to limit the use of ballot drop boxes and shorten the amount of time mail-in ballots have to arrive after Election Day.
Following two hours of debate, the chamber voted 22 to 17 to approve a bill limiting counties to one ballot drop box per 30,000 people, requiring monitoring of boxes when open and eliminating a 3-day post-election grace period for mail-in ballots to arrive.
The measure, which fell five votes short of a veto-proof majority, now heads to the House where lawmakers voted down a similar bill eliminating the grace period in committee.
Proponents of the bill said they want to prevent ballot tampering and prevent preliminary election vote counts from changing after Election Day to avoid voter confusion.
“We’re trying to create uniformity here and we’re also trying to give a sense of uniformity to our elections,” Sen. Rob Olson, an Olathe Republican, said. “We want Election Day to be Election Day.”
Olson said he based the legislation on policies in other states, like Colorado and Florida.
Opponents questioned whether the legislation was necessary, and said it would make voting more difficult. Sen. Oletha Faust-Goudeau, a Wichita Democrat, said the bill would prove particularly burdensome for senior citizens, disabled voters and residents who can’t leave work to drop off their ballots.
“The original goal for drop boxes is to help those Kansans be able to cast their vote,” Faust-Goudeau said. “That person who works the graveyard shift, that’s convenience for them.”
Johnson and Wyandotte Counties would retain their current number of drop boxes under the bill, but they would need to operate only during business hours rather than be open for drop offs around the clock. Furthermore, those boxes, which are placed around the county, would need an election worker manning them at all times.
Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Baxter Springs Republican, voiced concern about ballot boxes being set on fire or vandalized. That has not been an issue in Kansas.
Sen. Dennis Pyle, a Hiawatha Republican, argued that any damaged ballot that isn’t counted is a bigger instance of voter suppression than legislation making it harder to cast a vote.
“I’ve seen some crazy things happen on YouTube,” Pyle said. “Maybe it’s your vote that is suppressed when that ballot box is grabbed.”
The restriction would likely have the largest impact on rural counties that have smaller populations but are geographically more spread out.
“This is very much an urban bill and I think we’re being dissed out in rural counties,” Sen. John Doll, a Garden City Republican, said. He noted that in rural counties, voters may have to drive 20 miles through rain or snow to get their ballots in.
Residents mailing in ballots would need to ensure they arrive by 7 p.m. Election Day rather than just be postmarked by then.
According to the Kansas Secretary of State’s office, 31,000 Kansans voted in 2020 by mailing in their ballots or using drop boxes. It’s unclear exactly how the legislation would affect those voters’ ability to turn out.
The bill is an amended version of policies promoted by the Opportunity Solutions Project, a Florida-based dark money group.
The organization has pushed for legislation limiting advance voting across the U.S. It only began working on election issues in the wake of the 2020 election and President Donald Trump’s unfounded claims of voting fraud.
There is no evidence of voter fraud or ballot tampering in Kansas, though the Legislature has devoted hours this year to listening to conspiracies of fraud in the 2020 and 2021 elections. The Johnson County Sheriff is pursuing an investigation into election fraud based on similar unfounded claims.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab has consistently said Kansas’ elections are free and fair. Additionally he has argued that ballot drop boxes are more secure than the U.S. Postal Service.
Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said the legislation would fuel concern about voter fraud rather than assuage it.
“I do think this tells Kansans that they should not have faith in our election system,” Sykes said.
The Star’s Jonathan Shorman contributed to this report.
