Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes bill that would eliminate grace period for mail ballots
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would require advance voting ballots to be delivered to officials on Election Day, eliminating the current three-day grace period for the arrival of late ballots.
Republicans had pushed the legislation as an election security measure after years of baseless allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election by former President Donald Trump and his supporters. But Kelly and other Democrats said eliminating the additional arrival time would disenfranchise voters.
“As the daughter of a career Army officer, I cannot support measures that would disenfranchise members of our armed services – who fight for our freedoms, including the right to vote – from casting their own ballot,” Kelly said in a statement.
“This bill eliminates the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots often used by those in the military serving across the country or overseas.”
Kelly also said the bill would likely result in too many rural Kansans — who may vote by mail to avoid long drives to the polls — not having their vote counted. The bill would require all advance ballots to be turned in to election authorities by 7 p.m. on Election Day, the same time polls close. Current Kansas law allows advance ballots to count if they arrive up to three business days following Election Day as long as they are postmarked on Election Day.
Republicans face a steep climb in overturning the veto. The measure passed 76-48 in the House and 23-14 in the Senate. Overriding a veto requires 84 votes in the House and 27 votes in the Senate.
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, in a statement criticizing several vetoes issued by Kelly on Wednesday, said the governor “signaled she wants an endless counting of ballots.”
But regardless of whether Kansas eliminates the three-day grace period, the bill has no effect on the official counting of ballots. Ballots are officially counted at canvasses conducted by county election officials in the weeks after Election Day.
Results reported on election night are preliminary, unofficial totals.
