State and county elections officials have long encouraged voters not to dilly-dally when sending in their advance ballots. But lawmakers are weighing changes that could mean anyone who hesitates in voting by mail could be lost.
Currently, voters have to postmark their advance ballots by 7 p.m. on Election Day for their vote to be counted, as long as their ballots arrive at the county elections office by Friday, three days later. County election officers say the window shouldn t be relied upon but can serve as a useful get-out-of-jail-free card for those who procrastinate on their civic duty.
Under legislation proposed in the Kansas House, however, ballots would need to arrive by 5 p.m. on the day after Election Day a shortened time frame that officials say could make things more difficult for residents amid potential changes to the U.S. Postal Service.
Amid a national debate over voting by mail and a 2020 general election in Kansas that, by all accounts, went off without a hitch, slight changes to the state s election laws are still on the table.
Most notably, legislators are weighing a proposal to ban residents from dropping off an advance ballot on behalf of a neighbor or friend, with arguments that such a move is necessary to crack down on potential ballot harvesting.
That term refers to someone collecting a mass of ballots on behalf of others and then submitting them. It gained widespread prominence as part of President Donald Trump s unverified claims of fraud in mail voting during the 2020 election.