Bill Would Set Deadline for Mail-In Ballots

By Grace Hills, Kansas Reflector

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.”

Supporters argue that Kansas would join the “national norm,” as 32 other states have already enacted a similar law. Jason Snead, the executive director of the Honest Elections Project, a conservative group that lobbies for stricter voting laws, said his organization produced a survey that found 89% of respondents believed ballots should be returned by Election Day.  

“I see nothing in this bill that would make it harder to vote,” Snead said.

Clay Barker, general council for the Secretary of State’s Office, said Kansas has one of the shorter grace periods. Deadlines for mail-in ballots in other states range from 5 p.m. on Election Day to 14 days after.

Barker said that in the states with shorter or no grace periods, ballots are often sent out farther in advance. Kansas sends out mail-in ballots 20 days before an election, meaning recipients would have a shorter turnaround time. SB 4 does not require mail-in ballots to be sent earlier. 

The bill’s supporters argue the grace period allows more leeway for theoretical voter fraud because, they claim, the U.S. Postal Service’s postmarks are unreliable.

Madeline Malisa, a visiting fellow at Opportunity Solutions Project, says that the bill would “ensure that Election Day is Election Day in Kansas.” Opportunity Solutions Project is the lobbying arm of the Foundation for Government Accountability and works in statehouses across the country to oppose public assistance programs and restrict voting access.

Davis Hammet, president of the voter advocacy group Loud Light, said that is not the case. 

“Really — the only question this bill asks is should we count a citizen’s vote?” Hammet said. “I hope you don’t take that protection away from Kansas citizens for inefficiencies in the federal government.”

If passed, the law would go into effect in July.