OFFICE OF GOV.
TOPEKA – In an effort to expand and improve voting opportunities in Kansas, Governor Laura Kelly signed House Substitute for Senate Bill 130 Monday afternoon, amending the law concerning advance ballots, signature requirements and polling places.
“Over the past decade, we have seen countless efforts aimed at making voting more difficult in this state,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “I hope this will be the first of many laws that help ensure that every voice is heard in our democratic process and that every vote is counted.”
House Substitute for Senate Bill 130 will give county election officials the discretion to allow all registered voters to cast their ballot at any polling place in their county on election day. It also requires county election officers to attempt to contact each voter who submitted an advance voting ballot without a signature or with a signature that does not match the signature on file. The voter will be allowed to correct their signature before the commencement of the final tallying of votes in that county.
“This law is about local control and protecting every vote,” Kelly said. “I applaud all of the local and state officials who worked together to make this law a reality, especially those in Sedgwick County who were the driving force behind it.”
This brings the total number of bills signed in the 2019 Legislative Session to 37, with one being vetoed. By law, the Kansas governor has 10 calendar days to sign bills into law, veto bills or allow bills to become law without her signature.
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly has signed a bill that requires election officials to notify voters before their mail-in ballots are thrown out because of signature problems.
An Associated Press analysis of rejected ballots in the 2018 primary in the state’s most populous county found that 153 mail-in ballots were not counted because of signatures that didn’t match county voting records.
Then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach defeated then-Gov. Jeff Colyer for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in that race by only 343 votes. The close Republican primaryhighlighted differences in how Kansas counties handled mail-in ballots.
The legislationKelly signed Monday gives voters an additional week or longer to provide a signature.