KS lawmakers want to limit mail-in balloting. What does it mean for a key abortion vote?
Despite the absence of evidence that ballot security is an issue in Kansas, Republican lawmakers are considering proposals that would make advance and mail-in voting more difficult — and likely reduce turnout, the state’s chief election official said.
The effort aligns with GOP-led initiatives nationwide to restrict ballot access, based on unfounded claims of voting fraud in the 2020 election. Over 250 bills with restrictive provisions have been introduced or carried over from previous legislative sessions in at least 27 states, according to the nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice.
Kansas and Missouri lawmakers have recently given air to these claims. Earlier this month Douglas Frank, an Ohio teacher and promoter of a widely debunked mathematical theory that the election was stolen, testified to the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee. The Topeka Capitol Journal reported Thursday that Mike Lindell, founder of My Pillow and a financial backer of Frank and other efforts to undermine the legitimacy of the 2020 results, will headline an event alongside Kris Kobach in Holton next month.
The three Kansas proposals, if passed, would limit voting by mail. One requires ballots to be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service. Another bans unmanned ballot drop boxes. A third eliminates the 3-day grace period that allows mail-in ballots to be counted if they arrive postmarked on election day. All would take effect July 1.
On July 13 election officials will begin mailing out advance ballots for the 2022 August primary — a traditionally low-turnout election that this year will include a vote on a constitutional amendment determining the future of abortion rights in Kansas.
The result, Secretary of State Scott Schwab said, is a likely reduction in voter turnout.
“Every time you do drastic changes there is a potential for lower turnout and those people who are wanting that amendment to be passed should be concerned about that,” Schwab said. “Voter confusion depresses turnout.”
Schwab, who is up for reelection in November, faces a primary challenge from former Johnson County Commissioner Mike Brown, who contends that Schwab has not done enough to safeguard against voter fraud. Schwab has remained neutral on most of the proposed changes. On Thursday, a representative of his office testified against legislation to ban unmanned ballot drop boxes.
The voters most impacted would likely be disabled and elderly voters who depend on the mail and advance voting system. Advocates say that population would lose valuable time trying to get assistance and make sure their vote is counted.
“You can’t just make a decision one at a time on these. You need to look at the compounding impact,” Mike Burgess, director of policy and outreach at the Disability Rights Center of Kansas, told lawmakers.
In August, Kansans will vote on a constitutional amendment, called “value them both,” that would effectively allow legislators to pursue any abortion restrictions or regulations permitted in federal law. The ballot measure follows a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that the state constitution protects the right to an abortion.
When the Legislature voted to place the amendment on the ballot, critics accused proponents of choosing the August primary to reduce turnout among Democratic and unaffiliated voters.
Micah Kubic, Executive Director at the ACLU of Kansas, said passage of restrictions on advance voting would be a sign that lawmakers are “uninterested in democracy itself.”
“When you take step after step after step to make it harder for folks to participate you should not be surprised when turnout goes down,” Kubic said. “There’s no question that the election happens so soon after these will go into effect only adds to the harm.”
Jeanne Gawdun, a lobbyist for Kansans for Life, the state’s leading anti-abortion organization, said she isn’t watching election laws closely this year. Last year, the group lobbied on two election bills citing concern for election security on the amendment vote.
“Our whole take on election bills, like with last year, was just to ensure that there is integrity in our elections,” Gawdun said. “This year I’m not really sure what, if anything, would have an effect on the August primary vote … we’re just focused on informing folks on the need for value them both.”
Proposed Changes
Sen. Richard Hilderbrand, a Galena Republican who sponsored legislation requiring voters to use U.S. Postal Service, said his intent was not to interfere with voter turnout in 2022. He said he is considering amendments that would delay implementation until after the November election. He said he may also seek changes to the bill allowing UPS and FedEx to be used in specific circumstances with receipts.
“My goal is strictly chain of custody, just to provide that chain of custody so that if someone casts a ballot that that ballot then gets counted within the timeframes that are allowed,” Hilderbrand said. “By the time these get to pass both chambers and the Governor signs them...the timeframe for (election officials) to implement this is probably not feasible for them to do this primary so that’s something we really should consider.”
In 2020 31,000 Kansans voted by mail, according to Schwab’s office. Those voters could return their ballots through the U.S. Postal Service, FedEx, UPS or using ballot drop boxes monitored by county election offices across the state.
Mail-in ballots had to be postmarked by 7 p.m. on election day. As long as they arrived within 3 days of election day, those votes would be counted.
The policies under consideration in the Kansas House and Senate would change that reducing the time and options for Kansans to vote by mail and before election day.
The bills are supported by some Republican lawmakers and national organizations such as the Florida-based Opportunity Solutions Project, which advocates nationwide for election law changes and against expansion of welfare programs like Medicaid.
Supporters have pointed to concerns about the possibility of ballot tampering. They also said they want to eliminate voter confusion that comes when election night results change as mail-in ballots are counted.
“The duty of the Kansas Legislature is not only to pass laws that make it easy to vote but to also institute fair and common sense measures that make it hard to cheat,” Steward Woodson, a fellow at the Opportunity Solutions Project told lawmakers.
Opponents say it needlessly interferes with an already secure voting system. There has been no evidence of widespread voter fraud in Kansas and Schwab said ballot drop boxes, UPS and FedEx are arguably more secure than the U.S. Postal Services
“The reason why our elections are going so well is because of the systems we have,” Schwab said. “If you change it drastically then it’s harder to have good elections.”
“Trump is not questioning the results of Kansas. Unless it’s a candidate concerned about election results, go be a poll worker then you’ll know.”
