By Stephen Koranda, Amy Jeffries

It’s time to start voting, Kansas.

From the top of the primary ballot to the bottom, there are important decisions to make by Aug. 2.

At the very top: U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, 3rd District Rep. Kevin Yoder and 1st District Rep. Tim Huelskamp are all facing primary opponents. Campaigning in the 1st District has been particularly contentious — of the mud-slinging variety — and with no Democrat in the ring, the primary will be terminal.

At the very bottom: You get to pick from or write-in candidates for precinct committeeman and committeewoman. There are a lot of vacancies in these offices that make up the party grassroots.

The primaries that could matter most are the contests in 18 state Senate districts and 47 state House districts. In many districts, the climate is not friendly for candidates tied to Gov. Sam Brownback.

Fifteen state House races will be decided Aug. 2, with the victor facing no opposition in the general election. That, plus all the open seats and challenges to incumbents, means the makeup of the Legislature could be quite different as soon as the primaries are over.

Not registered? You are too late. The deadline for the Aug. 2 primaries was Tuesday, July 12.

If you’ve already got your registration figured out, you can request an advance ballot for the primaries through your county election office up until July 29.

They’re due back by 7 p.m. Aug. 2 when polls close. Counties have flexibility on in-person early voting, so dates vary by location, but it begins as soon as July 13. Contact your county election office to find out when you can vote in-person.

Bring your photo ID. Remember, in Kansas, you can’t cast your vote in person or request a mail-in ballot without it. —

Stephen Koranda is the Statehouse bureau chief for Kansas Public Radio. Amy Jeffries is the Kansas elections editor at KCUR.