This is part of the Brennan Center’s Toolkits for Activists Across the Nation.
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Political Context | What’s in Place and What’s Needed | Key Dates
Administering an election under pandemic conditions requires undertaking steps to keep voting accessible, safe, and secure. The guide below lays out the problems Covid-19 poses, what preparedness measures Kansas has, and what changes are still needed. But first, we offer some political context for your advocacy.
Advocacy Focus: Local Reform
Local officials have a lot of responsibility over elections. They are a great place to focus advocacy efforts. Though state officials can make any of the changes in this toolkit, we highlight some examples of changes that local elections officials can also make with this symbol:🔸
Political Context
Below is a list of the relevant officials and information about the legislative session.
Governor: Laura Kelly (D)
Secretary of State: Scott Schwab (R)
Legislature: House (R) Senate (R)
Legislative Session: The legislature last adjourned on June 4, 2020. Either the legislature or the governor can call a special legislative session.
Local Elections Officials: Each county has a county election officer. In some counties, it is an appointed elections commissioner. In others, it is the county clerk. You can look up individual local officials here.
What Kansas Has and What’s Needed
Three priorities. There are three key areas where we need to shore up our elections systems for success during a pandemic: registration, mail voting, and in-person voting.
Registration
Covid-19 may disrupt the traditional ways Americans register to vote, like get out the vote drives or registering at government agencies. In the crucial weeks before the registration deadline, postal service disruptions may lead many registration forms to arrive at election offices after the deadline.
Preparatory Measures Kansas Already Has Taken:
- Online voter registration
Changes Still Needed:
- Prepare to extend online and mail voter registration deadlines based on conditions in the state
- Voter registration on Election Day
Voting by Mail
Because of Covid-19, long lines and crowds at the polls pose health risks not seen in previous elections. Allowing every citizen to vote by mail reduces the number of people at the polls on Election Day and decreases the exposure risk to Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Kansas Already Has Taken:
- All voters can vote by mail without an excuse
- No notary or witness requirement for return of mail ballot
- Provides post-election notice and cure opportunity for defects on absentee-ballot envelope, including signature mismatch or missing signatures
- Accepts late-arriving ballots postmarked by Election Day
Changes Still Needed:
- Online tool for requesting an absentee ballot
- Eliminate ID requirement to vote by mail (at the application stage)
- Provide pre-paid postage for voting by mail🔸
- Send absentee-ballot applications to all voters who have not yet applied
In-Person Voting
Even with expanded mail voting opportunity, states cannot close polling places. To do so may disenfranchise voters without Internet and mail access, or those who do not wish to cast a ballot by mail. In-person voting must be done in accordance with health guidelines to prevent the spread of Covid-19.
Preparatory Measures Kansas Already Has Taken:
- In-person early voting
Changes Still Needed:
- Ensure sufficient polling places are open and resourced on Election Day🔸
- Open more in-person early voting locations🔸
- Take proper public health precautions to ensure safe polling places🔸
- Hold training sessions for polling-place workers well in advance of Election Day, so that election officials can better anticipate problems with staffing and logistics🔸
- Increase access to curbside voting at polling locations
Advocacy Focus: Protecting Polling Places
No matter how prepared Kansas is as a matter of policy, elections officials and advocates must stay vigilant about ensuring safe, healthy in-person voting is an option for everyone all the way through Election Day. Here are some important things to know about who makes decisions about polling places in Kansas and what rules govern the process:
- County election officials may establish additional satellite in-person advance voting sites beyond only the county election office, and can offer advance voting for more days than the minimum required, including on weekends.🔸
- County election officers are responsible for equipping and supplying each polling place.🔸
- County election officers cannot change a voting place prior to an election without providing mailed notice to the voters affected 30 days prior to the election, except in the event of an emergency.🔸
Key Dates for Kansas Elections
- July 14, 2020: Deadline to register to vote for the Primary Election
- July 15, 2020: Mail voting and early voting may begin for the Primary Election
- August 4, 2020: Primary Election Day
- October 13, 2020: Deadline to register to vote for the General Election
- October 14, 2020: Mail voting and early voting may begin for the General Election
- November 3, 2020: General Election Day