Kansas

Kansas ends mail-in ballot grace period voting law. Why have other states followed? | Tyler Kirby/Kansas City Star

Once a bipartisan safeguard against postal delays and slow mail processing times, Kansas’ three-day mail ballot grace period is now gone — axed by lawmakers, challenged in court, and mirrored in a growing number of Republican-led states. Following the 2020 election, former President Trump promoted false claims of widespread voter fraud, targeting states that allowed ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted after polls closed, many under temporary pandemic-era policies. Trump and his allies seized on mail delays and extended deadlines to cast doubt on the legitimacy of the results. A law passed nearly unanimously by the Kansas Legislature in 2017 granted a three-day grace period for legally postmarked mail-in ballots to be counted after Election Day, responding to concerns that U.S. Postal Service delays were causing some ballots, especially from rural areas, to arrive late and go uncounted. Read Article

Kansas has among the shortest windows for voting by mail in the US. It will get shorter next year | John Hanna/Associated Press

Republican legislators in Kansas on Tuesday shrunk what already was among the nation’s shortest windows for voting by mail, arguing that problems with the U.S. Postal Service’s handling of ballots required the move. Critics called it voter suppression. The GOP-supermajority Legislature overrode Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill eliminating an extra three days after Election Day for voters to return mail ballots that are postmarked by Election Day. The change will take effect in 2026. It is not clear how much the change will affect election outcomes. About 11% of registered Democrats cast mail ballots in Kansas in November, compared with 6% for Republicans. But the Kansas secretary of state’s office said only 2,110 of the more than 1.3 million ballots counted arrived during the grace period. Read Article

Kansas: New voting restrictions a top priority for emboldened GOP supermajorities | Matthew Kelly/Kansas City Star

Kansas Republicans are wasting no time pursuing tighter voting restrictions as they aim to capitalize on expanded supermajorities in the House and Senate this year. On Tuesday’s first day of committee meetings, GOP lawmakers introduced a series of familiar bills that would tighten regulation of ballot drop boxes and eliminate the state’s three-day grace period for late-arriving mail ballots. Republicans also put forward bills banning ranked choice voting and seeking an amendment to the Kansas Constitution explicitly stating that non-citizens are not allowed to vote, despite the fact that voting laws already limit voting rights to citizens. Read Article

Kansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn’t work out so well | John Hanna/Associated Press

Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet there’s one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas. That’s because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory. The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasn’t been enforced since 2018. Read Article

Kansas stops enforcing a law against impersonating election officials | John Hanna/Associated Press

Kansas is no longer enforcing a 3-year-old law making it a felony to impersonate election officials as it faces a legal challenge from critics who argue that the law has hindered efforts to register new voters. Attorneys for the state and groups suing over the law agreed on stopping its enforcement, and District Judge Teresa Watson in Shawnee County, home to the state capital of Topeka, issued an order earlier this week ratifying their agreement. Her order will remain in effect at least until another court hearing after the November election. The law made “falsely representing” an elections official punishable by up to 13 months in prison for a first-time offender, though two years’ probation would have been the most likely sentence. The crime includes causing someone to believe another person is an election official. The Republican-controlled Legislature enacted the law in 2021 by overriding a veto by Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly. Read Article

Kansas GOP lawmakers revive a plan to stop giving voters 3 extra days to return mail ballots | John Hanna/Associated Press

Republican legislators in Kansas are reviving a proposal to eliminate the three-day grace period for returning mail ballots, making concessions to win over rural GOP lawmakers and potentially override a Democratic governor’s veto. Despite no evidence of fraud, Republicans argue that allowing ballots to be counted after Election Day undermines confidence in the results. The latest version of the proposal includes delaying the elimination of the grace period until 2025, adding two extra days for advance voting, and requiring county offices to be open for advance, in-person voting on the Saturday before an election. Read Article

Kansas Senate rejects election bill amended to force hand counts of Kansas paper ballots | Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

The Kansas Senate rejected a complex election bill on Tuesday, marked by an amendment mandating paper ballots and hand counts without computer technology, proposed by GOP Senator Mark Steffen. Despite concerns raised by Senate President Ty Masterson regarding potential veto by Democratic Governor Laura Kelly, the amendment was included in Senate Bill 365, leading to its defeat in a 18-22 vote. While some senators argued for enhanced election security, critics cautioned against regressive measures, including removal of ballot drop boxes and reliance on outdated hand-counting methods, deeming them costly and prone to error. Read Article

Kansas: Conspiracies hinder GOP’s efforts to cut the time for returning mail ballots | John Hanna/Associated Press

Republican efforts in the Kansas Legislature to shorten the mail ballot return time faced a setback as baseless election conspiracy theories resurfaced, prompting GOP senators to expand the bill to include bans on vote-tabulating machines and remote ballot drop boxes. Despite the Senate’s approval, the bill is unlikely to pass the House, where there’s little support for such bans. While some Republicans aimed to override a potential veto from Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly, the bill’s broader scope makes this outcome doubtful. The debate underscores the division within the GOP over election policies, with Secretary of State Scott Schwab, a conservative Republican, supporting ballot drop boxes and vouching for election integrity. Read Article

Kansas: ‘Somehow exploitable’: Election security debate returns to Statehouse | Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector

The 2024 Kansas legislative session has begun with renewed debates on election security. Despite no evidence of widespread election fraud, some Republicans argue that potential security flaws in voter machines could be exploited by various actors, including Russian hackers, George Soros, and the Chinese. The House Committee on Elections witnessed a division among Republicans, with Vice Chair Rep. Paul Waggoner emphasizing nonpartisan concerns about election security, while two other committee Republicans cautioned against one-sided claims of election hacking. Read Article

Kansas: Will Johnson County destroy old ballots per state law? Sheriff and officials near showdown | Susan Ritter and Jonathan Shorman/The Kansas City Star

Johnson County officials are moving forward with the destruction of old ballots as mandated by state law, despite objections from Sheriff Calvin Hayden, a hard-right Republican who has been conducting an election investigation that has not led to any criminal charges. Hayden’s investigation has been criticized for encouraging conspiracy theorists and election deniers. The county has stored ballots from the 2019 election onwards at Hayden’s request, but the patience of the Johnson County Commission appears to be waning. The commission, dominated by Republicans, has received reminders from the Kansas Secretary of State about the legal requirement to destroy the ballots. The destruction of the ballots would signal a rebuke to Hayden, who has promoted his investigation at right-wing events. Read Article

A third of Kansas election officials have quit because of harassment and conspiracy theories | Dylan Lysen/KCUR

The aftermath of the 2020 election and unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud have led to a significant turnover of election officials in Kansas, with 35 of the state’s 109 officials resigning since 2020. The Kansas Legislature’s Special Committee on Elections has held hearings where advocates for election security changes argued that the state’s voting systems are not safe, but some officials, like Republican Harvey County Clerk Rick Piepho, say the committee is focusing on disinformation and unfounded conspiracy theories. The ongoing scrutiny and criticism of election officials, along with the stress of ensuring election security, are cited as factors contributing to the turnover, which is consistent with a national trend. Despite these challenges, election officials are preparing for the 2024 presidential election, recognizing the importance of their role in American democracy. Read Article

Kansas: Election denialists have a new strategy for spreading voting conspiracy theories. They’re hitting the road. | Molly Olmstead/Slate

In Kansas, an invite-only event at the state legislature recently hosted speakers promoting QAnon conspiracy theories, lobbyists from conservative “dark money” groups, and individuals advocating for covert actions to uncover election crimes. These speakers presented baseless ideas about foreign meddling, rigged results, and Democrat wrongdoing, mirroring the narratives that fueled the January 6 Capitol riot. Notably, the event excluded actual election administrators and legitimate voting rights groups, demonstrating the entrenched nature of election fraud conspiracy theories in the U.S. since 2020. Despite a decrease in overall energy around these theories, a vocal minority persists, with some legislators entertaining their ideas and even introducing related bills in various states. Read Article

Kansas: ‘Not really tethered to facts.’ Legislature gives platform to election misinformation | Katie Bernard/The Kansas City Star

The Kansas Legislature spent over $6,600 on a committee that promoted misinformation and false claims of election fraud in a two-day meeting. The committee, chaired by Sen. Mike Thompson, handpicked activists who lacked expertise on elections and a Florida-based think tank that advocated for ballot restrictions, excluding local election administrators. The cost covered salaries, per diems, and staff pay for all 11 lawmakers. Many of the activists invited were not based in Kansas. The second day of testimony was dominated by individuals presenting repeatedly debunked claims of election fraud and irregularities. Critics argue that the committee did more harm than good to voter confidence, as it provided a platform for misinformation without counteracting it with accurate information from experts in the field of elections. Thompson plans to ask for permission to hold a third day of election integrity hearings later this year, but critics argue that the views of those who worry about machines should be balanced with expertise and evidence.

Kansas audit of election security exposes strengths, weaknesses of voting systems | Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

An audit conducted by the auditing division of the Kansas Legislature found that election officials in more than a dozen counties in Kansas had adequate overall security practices and management of election computers but raised concerns about the security of ballots and vote tabulation machines. The audit compared Kansas’ election practices against recommended federal election security policies and revealed both strengths and weaknesses. The auditors recommended that the Secretary of State’s office create example election security policies, provide guidance to county election officers on sealing election materials, and use training opportunities to reinforce the importance of security measures. Secretary of State Scott Schwab acknowledged the need for strengthening certain election security policies and procedures. The audit was conducted in response to calls for election audits and reviews by individuals skeptical of the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Read Article

Kansas House, Senate pass bills on ballot boxes, three-day grace period for advance ballots | Allison Kite and Rachel Mipro/Kansas Reflector

Election legislation meant to shore up public trust and transparency passed out of the Kansas House and Senate Thursday, despite concerns that the bills would have a chilling effect on voters. House and Senate lawmakers passed bills ending the three-day grace period for advance ballot collection 77-45, following Wednesday’s debate on the ethics of limiting the window. The vote marks a shift from 2017, when the House voted to create the three-day grace period for ballots with 123 voting in favor of the legislation. Senators voted 23-17 Thursday to do the same. Republican proponents of the bill have said the measure will restore state residents’ trust in the electoral process, though some of the bill’s critics have said proponents are the ones undermining the electoral system in the first place. Rep. Stephanie Sawyer Clayton, an Overland Park Democrat, said the current system should be kept. “We believe that the best way to maintain trust in our election systems is by working under the current constructs as opposed to undermining democracy itself through inflammatory rhetoric,” Sawyer Clayton said. Under the House bill, all advance ballots need to be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day, eliminating the window currently in place. The restriction would apply to advance voting ballots received by mail, in the office of the county election officer, the satellite election office, any polling place or a county-maintained election drop box.

Full Article: Kansas House, Senate pass bills on ballot boxes, three-day grace period for advance ballots – Kansas Reflector

Kansas: Will election conspiracy theories cause permanent damage to democracy? | Katie Bernard/The Kansas City Star

In early September, Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden spoke with a group of Johnson County conservatives known as the “Liberty People” about his efforts to investigate voter fraud. It was a free-wheeling discussion that included calls for the elimination of all voting machines, unfounded insinuations that undocumented immigrants are voting, and promises that the sheriff was closing in on one of the biggest investigations of his career — despite no evidence of widespread fraud in Kansas’ most populous county. An hour in, an older woman piped up with an apparent call for action. “Now that I’m older, I’m not afraid to go to jail,” she said to Johnson County’s top law enforcement officer. Hayden chuckled and reminded her he’s bound by the constitution. “We are not,” the woman responded. The episode, posted to right-wing video sharing site Rumble, highlighted a phenomenon that has grown over the past two years in Kansas and the country as a whole. A growing collection of citizens no longer trust the outcomes of elections and promote claims of massive fraud without any basis or proof. Though exaggerated claims of voter fraud are not new to the Sunflower State, former President Donald Trump’s continued refusal to accept his 2020 defeat helped set a fire in Kansas that continues to spread ahead of the Nov. 8 midterm election.

Source: Does election denialism threaten democracy in Kansas? | The Kansas City Star

Kansas election conspiracy theorists seek 2020 redo, ban on electronic voting machines in 2022 | Ti Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

The Kansas secretary of state said plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit alleging election fraud in 2020 and 2022 were manipulated by conspiracy fearmongers dedicated to undermining public confidence in the security and accuracy of voting in Kansas. Six individuals filed suit against Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Gov. Laura Kelly and Bryan Caskey, Schwab’s director of elections, in a bid for a U.S. District Court injunction forbidding use of electronic voting machines, except for people with a disability, in the Nov. 8 general election. If granted, the state would be forced to proceed with an all-paper voting process statewide coupled with hand counting of ballots. The 77-page petition purports to offer evidence of misconduct in the November 2020 general election in Kansas that produced a victory for President Donald Trump as well as in the August 2022 primary election in which Kansas voters rejected a proposed abortion amendment to the Kansas Constitution. Plaintiffs demanded the federal court require Kelly to void 2020 election results to lay the foundation of a special election to correct that flawed exercise in democracy. Signers of the lawsuit also want the court to instruct Schmidt to open a criminal investigation of Schwab.

Full Article: Kansas election conspiracy theorists seek 2020 redo, ban on electronic voting machines in 2022 – Kansas Reflector

Kansas: “We’ve got to find soebody”: Johnson County Sheriff appears to lack probable cause in election inquiry | Jonathan Shorman/The Kansas City Star

Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden, who has spent months promoting a criminal investigation into elections, told a gathering of residents last week that “we’ve got to find somebody” who knows election rigging is happening. But the Republican sheriff appeared to acknowledge he doesn’t have probable cause, the legal standard required to seek a search or arrest warrant, after the investigation helped foster baseless suspicions of voter fraud. He also said he launched the inquiry to force the preservation of 2020 election records. The comments came during a nearly two-hour meeting inside a Johnson County Sheriff’s Office facility. Video of the meeting, which took place Aug. 30, was posted on Friday on Rumble, a video sharing platform popular among the right-wing politicians and supporters. Hayden’s remarks offer additional insight into an investigation that hasn’t led to any charges or arrests but has helped build his profile among election deniers. At the meeting, Hayden appeared to lay the groundwork to explain why his amorphous investigation hasn’t progressed. He told the audience that he has “tons of reasonable suspicion” but says he needs probable cause for a search warrant “to swear I know a crime has been committed.” He also alluded to baseless conspiracy theories that allege China stole the 2020 election from former President Donald Trump. Some Trump supporters, including MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell, have promoted the baseless idea.

Source: Kansas sheriff: Election investigation started over records | The Kansas City Star

Kansas certifies defeat of anti-abortion amendment, other results | Jonathan Shorman/The Kansas City Star

The Aug. 2 election in Kansas was the highest-turnout primary election in state history, Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s Office said Thursday as top officials met to formally certify the results, including the defeat of an amendment to remove abortion rights from the state constitution. The unprecedented turnout in the Aug. 2 primary election was driven by extraordinary voter interest in the amendment, called Value Them Both by supporters, which would have overturned a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found the state constitution protects abortion access. The Kansas State Board of Canvassers voted unanimously to certify the results of the amendment vote and every other state-level and congressional race at the end of a brief meeting in Topeka. In addition to Schwab, the board includes Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly and Republican state Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who will face each other in the Nov. 8 general election for governor. Kelly and Schmidt shook hands, but otherwise didn’t speak to each other during the meeting as they sat on opposite ends of a table, with Schwab, who chaired the meeting, in the middle.

Source: KS certifies defeat of anti-abortion amendment, other results | The Kansas City Star

Kansas recount confirms landslide win for abortion rights, but highlights risk to democracy | Katie Bernard and Jonathan Shorman/The Kansas City Star

Kansas reaffirmed its landslide vote to uphold abortion rights after election officials on Sunday finished a recount that never had any chance of changing the outcome but was sought by an election denier and anti-abortion activist advancing baseless allegations of fraud. The exercise instead delivered a second victory for opponents of an amendment that would have stripped abortion rights from the state constitution. But the recount of such a lopsided vote, rather than building credibility in the results, risks undermining trust in elections because the process provided fringe, diehard amendment supporters an opportunity to attempt to create an aura of uncertainty surrounding the vote when, in fact, none ever existed. A hand recount in nine counties – including Johnson and Sedgwick, the state’s two largest – cost roughly $120,000 and burned countless hours as election officials scrambled to conclude the arduous process before a Saturday deadline. Kansas voters rejected the amendment, called Value Them Both by supporters, 59% to 41% with a margin of about 165,000 votes. The partial recount ultimately changed the outcome by fewer than 60 votes —an infinitesimal fraction of the overall vote that included ballots from more than 922,000 Kansans.

Source: Kansas abortion vote confirmed with partial amendment recount | The Kansas City Star

Four Kansas counties complete abortion amendment recount | The Kansas City Star

Four of the nine counties ordered to undergo a hand recount of votes in Kansas’ abortion ballot initiative have finished their tallies with minimal changes to the overall vote total. Johnson County had not yet begun counting its ballots Wednesday afternoon. Mark Gietzen, a Wichita anti-abortion activist, and Melissa Leavitt, a Colby election denier, scraped together around $120,000 Monday to force a partial hand recount of the abortion rights affirming vote. They chose four of Kansas’ biggest counties — Johnson, Sedgwick, Douglas and Shawnee. They also chose five smaller counties — Crawford, Harvey, Jefferson, Lyon and Thomas. All but Thomas had a majority of voters reject the amendment. The recount, which began Tuesday and must be finished by Saturday, is virtually guaranteed to fail in changing the outcome of the election. Kansans rejected the amendment 59% to 41%, a gap of more than 165,000 votes.

Full Article: Four Kansas counties complete abortion amendment recount | The Kansas City Star

Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin | John Hanna/Associated Press

Kansas’ elections director says the state will go along with a request for a hand recount of votes from every county after last week’s decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference and a recount won’t change the result. Melissa Leavitt, of Colby in far western Kansas, requested the recount and declined to comment to reporters Friday evening, citing work obligations. But she said on an online site raising funds for a recount that she had “seen data” about the election. Her post was not more specific, and there is no evidence of significant problems with the election. Baseless election conspiracies have circulated widely in the U.S., particularly among supporters of former President Donald Trump, who has repeated false claims that he lost the 2020 election through fraud. Kansas law requires Leavitt to post a bond to cover the entire cost of the recount. Bryan Caskey, state elections director for the Kansas secretary of state’s office, said it would be the first recount of the votes on a statewide ballot question in at least 30 years.

Full Article: Kansas to recount abortion vote by hand, despite big margin | AP News

Kansas: Narrow GOP primary election for  treasurer triggers audit | Bill Lukitch/The Kansas City Star

A close Republican primary for Kansas treasurer has triggered a heightened post-election audit in Johnson County, along with every other county across the state, as the two GOP candidates seeking the party’s nomination were separated by a mere 312 votes on Wednesday evening. Unofficial results from the Kansas Secretary of State’s Office showed Rep. Steven Johnson ahead of Sen. Caryn Tyson by less than 1 percentage point as of 6 p.m. Under a new Kansas law enacted during the last session, every county election office in the state must now perform a post-election audit where ballots cast in 10% of each county’s precincts will be recounted by hand. During a press call on Wednesday, Bryan Caskey, the state’s director of elections, said the GOP primary for treasurer was the only one that met the threshold for the increased post-election audit. He said every county would also be performing the additional state-required audit of a statewide, state legislative and county race in addition to the constitutional amendment question regarding the right to have an abortion in Kansas Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman said Wednesday that his workers were in a bit of a scramble to get everything done in time. Although the voters have all done their part, he said the work was only beginning for the election office. “We just got out of gates with the work we have to do,” Sherman said. Johnson County, the most populated in Kansas, has 610 precincts. By state law the hand recount for the GOP treasurer primary will include 61 precincts. Seven precincts there will be recounted by hand in the other part of the post-election audit.

Full Article: Close GOP primary election for KS treasurer triggers audit | The Kansas City Star

Kansas appeals court says secretary of state violated open records law by altering computer system | Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector

Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab violated state open records law when he ordered a software vendor to disable the ability to produce a public record, the Kansas Court of Appeals ruled on Friday. The ruling is the latest victory for Davis Hammet, a voting rights advocate, in his three-year legal fight with Schwab over access to provisional ballot data under the Kansas Open Records Act. “By turning off the report capability, the secretary denied reasonable public access to that public record and the information within it,” Justice Stephen Hill wrote in the appeals court decision. “That action — choosing to conceal rather than reveal public records — violates KORA.” Each election cycle, Kansans cast tens of thousands of provisional ballots, many of which are discarded. Some of the issues can be corrected. A voter may have neglected to update their registration after moving, or an election official may question the validity of a signature on a mail-in ballot. Hammet, the president of Loud Light, which works to educate and engage young adults and underrepresented communities on elections in Kansas, has filed a series of requests for provisional ballot reports under the Kansas Open Records Act. The goal is to help voters have their ballots can be counted, and to research the issue to better advise public officials about policies that impact voters.

Full Article: Kansas appeals court says secretary of state violated open records law by altering computer system – Kansas Reflector

Kansas Secretary of State weary of fact-averse out-of-staters who insult Kansas election system | Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

Secretary of State Scott Schwab believes election security requires vigilance due to evolution of cyber threats, but the voice of Kansas’ top election official revealed a touch of exasperation when conversation pivoted to uninformed people dedicated to shaking public confidence in voting systems. Schwab said Kansas had conducted 300 post-election audits without uncovering a single failure. Still, he said, people were pushing theories of voter misconduct that fell short when it came to leaping from suspicion to fact. “Folks from out of state have come in and insulted the Kansas election system,” Schwab said on the Kansas Reflector podcast. “And, they haven’t read our laws. They’ve never been here on Election Day. They’d never watched the tabulation process. They’ve never been a poll worker.” … The Kansas Legislature adopted a collection of new election policies during the 2022 session, and Schwab said he had no objection to the Legislature’s efforts to make certain every legal vote was counted. In the background, however, was a national movement stoked by election skeptics who declared — without evidence — the United States was awash in fraud.

Full Article: Secretary of state weary of fact-averse out-of-staters who insult Kansas election system – Kansas Reflector

Kansas: Unbothered by cost concerns, state senators approve ballot watermark bill | Noah Taborda/Kansas Reflector

The Senate on Tuesday approved a senator’s efforts to ensure all voting systems in Kansas use a paper ballot with a distinctive watermark. Senate Bill 389, introduced by Sen. Richard Hildebrand, R-Galena, also requires a hand audit of these ballots after the election. Currently, Kansas requires election clerks to physically stamp each ballot, but Hildebrand brought the bill to ensure human error does not come into play. In a hearing earlier this month, voting rights advocates raised concerns about the impact of the bill on Kansans with disabilities and the cost for counties to print new ballots. The concerns were echoed by Senate Democrats who said this would not address any real issue. “I am happy to support things that will make our election process more secure. I don’t see any way that this would do that,” said Sen. Marci Francisco, D-Lawrence, during debate over the bill on Monday. “I also know that we are putting all the cost of this on our counties, and it is not something that any of my county residents have asked for.” Hildebrand countered that the cost was with the perceived security. “How much is peace of mind worth? Two cents? I’ll put my two cents in,” Hildebrand said. The state would not incur any costs, although counties would incur costs related to ballot printing and additional wages for election board workers. The Senate gave preliminary approval to the bill on Monday, then passed it 27-11 on Tuesday.

Full Article: Unbothered by cost concerns, Kansas senators approve ballot watermark bill – Kansas Reflector

Kansas House committee explores options for expanding election audits | Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

The Kansas secretary of state’s office and election reform organizations are backing legislation significantly broadening post-election auditing of close political races. A bill under consideration in the Kansas House would require hand counting of 10% of county precincts whenever a federal, statewide or legislative race was decided by a margin of 1% or less of votes on election night. The proposed reform would be applied in even-numbered election years on top of a 2018 requirement auditing occur in 1% of precincts in each county in randomly selected races for county, state and federal offices. In addition, House Bill 2570 would require new process-and-procedure audits of four randomly selected counties in odd-numbered years following a federal election. Clay Barker, deputy assistant secretary of state, said process audits would test voting machine accuracy, review the list of registered voters and in-person early voters, examine reasons for rejecting provisional ballots and look at signature verification materials. “Although we remain confident in our election procedures and audits, we understand the constant need to improve and enhance our processes,” Barker said. He said Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s office worked with the Kansas County Clerks and Election Officials Association to make certain reforms in the bill were attainable.

Full Article: Kansas House committee explores options for expanding election audits – Kansas Reflector

Kansas to pay $1.4M in legal fees for Kris Kobach-backed lawsuit fail | Andrew Bahl/Topeka Capital-Journal

A federal judge approved a deal Wednesday that would see the state pay out over $1.4 million in legal fees to a group of attorneys, including the American Civil Liberties Union, stemming from a prolonged court fight over a controversial voting law favored by former Secretary of State Kris Kobach. U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson signed off on the agreement, which is less than half of the $3.3 million initially requested by the groups. The parties reached an agreement on the matter and presented it to the judge Friday. The costs come from a five-year legal battle over legislation originally passed in 2011 and championed by Kobach, which required an individual present their birth certificate or passport in order to register to vote. The law was struck down by a federal judge in 2018 and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal of the case last year. After its introduction, the requirement was blamed for the suspension of thousands of voter registration applications, as residents didn’t necessarily have the right documents to prove their citizenship.

Full Article: Kansas to pay $1.4M in legal fees for Kris Kobach-backed lawsuit fail

Kansas altered software to hide election records, lawsuit claims | Roxanna Hegeman/Associated Press

A judge is considering whether Kansas’ Republican secretary of state ran afoul of the state’s open records law by ordering the removal of an election database function that generates a statewide report showing which provisional ballots were not counted — a decision civil rights advocates say will have far-reaching implications for government transparency. Shawnee County District Judge Teresa Watson heard arguments last week in a lawsuit filed by voting rights activist Davis Hammet, who is the president of Loud Light, a nonprofit that strives to increase voter turnout. The group helps voters fix any issues that led them to cast provisional ballots so that their votes are counted. Voters are given provisional ballots if they don’t appear to be registered, if they fail to present the required identification or if they are trying to vote at the wrong polling place. “We know there are deficiencies… where they aren’t counting votes that they should be counting and I think on some level there may be a resistance from the secretary of state to provide that data because it means we can highlight these deficiencies,” Hammet said in a phone interview Wednesday. “We can prove how there are votes that should have been counted that are not being counted.” That information can raise public awareness about problems in the elections system, leading to changes in state law. He noted the political outcry over the hundreds of discarded mail-in ballots statewide in the 2018 primary led to legislation a year later that requires election officials to notify voters before their mail-in ballots are thrown out because of problems with signatures.

Full Article: Lawsuit: Kansas altered software to hide election records

Kansas: Judge to decide if top election official can withhold records by altering software | Sherman Smith/The Kansas City Star

An attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas says the state’s open records law might as well not exist if Secretary of State Scott Schwab is allowed to keep public information hidden by reconfiguring software. Attorney Josh Pierson argued Wednesday in Shawnee County District Court for the release of provisional ballot data requested by Davis Hammet, a voter rights advocate who hoped to educate the public about why their ballots weren’t being counted. Hammet won a lawsuit last year over whether details about provisional ballots are a public record, and District Judge Teresa Watson ordered Schwab to turn the information over. The Republican secretary of state, whose agency oversees elections and manages a statewide voter database, instead ordered software engineers to remove the database function that allows the agency to produce the records. The secretary then denied Hammet’s request on the grounds that the records no longer exist. Schwab’s office told Hammet he could still get access to the data, but only if he paid $522 for the database vendor, Election Systems & Software, to retrieve it. Hammet sued again, with support from the ACLU. “This is gamesmanship,” Pierson said. “This was an attempt by the secretary to not have to produce these records that he litigated to not have to produce. He lost. He took matters into his own hands.”

Full Article: Schwab altered software to hide records, voting activist says. | The Kansas City Star