By Committee on Governmental Organization and Elections
2-8
9 AN ACT concerning elections; relating to primary elections; amending
10 K.S.A. 25-210, 25-211, 25-212, 25-213a, 25-215 and 25-216 and K.S.A.
11 1998 Supp. 25-213 and repealing the existing sections; also repealing
12 K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 25-3301.
13
14 Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
15 Section 1. K.S.A. 25-210 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-
16 210. The official primary election ballot for national and state offices and
17 the official primary election ballot for county and township offices of each
18 political party shall be arranged on the ballot, printed, voted, and can-
19 vassed in the same manner as is now or hereafter provided by law for the
20 arrangement, printing, voting, and canvassing of official general ballots
21 for national and state offices and official general ballots for county and
22 township offices, except as otherwise provided by law.
23 Sec. 2. K.S.A. 25-211 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-211.
24 The county election officer shall, At least two (2) weeks before the pri-
25 mary election, the county election officer shall mail to each person whose
26 name is to appear on the official ballot in such county, to the address
27 given in such papers, a copy of the first issue of the county paper con-
28 taining the names and addresses of those whose names will be printed on
29 the national, state, county and township primary election ballots. The
30 chairman of each party shall, On or before the eleventh11th day preced-
31 ing such primary election, the chairperson of each party may suggest to
32 the county election officer any changes that he may consider should be
33 made in the ballot applicable to his party, and if. Upon examination, if
34 the county election officer shall findfinds any error or omission in said
35 such ballot, hethe county election officer shall correct the ballot and cause
36 the same to be printed and distributed as required by law in the case of
37 ballots for the national, state, county and township general election. The
38 number of ballots of each party to be furnished to each precinct shall be
39 adequate in the opinion of the county election officer.
40 Sec. 3. K.S.A. 25-212 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-212.
41 In caseIf there are nomination petitions or declarations of intention to
42 become a candidate on file for more than one candidate or for more than
43 one pair of candidates for governor and lieutenant governor, of the same
HB 2326
2
1 party for any national or state office, the secretary of state shall divide the
2 state or appropriate part thereof, into as many divisions as there are names
3 to go on such partythe ballot for that office. Such divisions shall be as
4 nearly equal in number of members of such party as is convenient without
5 dividing any one county. In making such division the secretary of state
6 shall take the alphabetical list of counties in regular order until the sec-
7 retary of state gets the required proportion of party members of such
8 party based upon the party affiliation lists as shown by the certificates of
9 the respective county election officers, and so on through the list of coun-
10 ties until the secretary of state gets the proper proportion of party mem-
11 bersregistered voters in each division. The secretary of state shall also
12 shall take the alphabetical list of candidates or pairs of candidates in reg-
13 ular order and in certifying to the county election officer the list of names
14 for whom nomination petitions or declarations of intent to become a
15 candidate have been filed, shall place one name or pair of candidates at
16 the head of the list in the first division of counties, another in the second
17 division, and so on with all the candidates for any particular office, so that
18 every candidate or pair of candidates for any office shall be at the head
19 of the list in one division of the state and second in another division
20 thereof, and so forth. When, In the case of candidates for the office of
21 congressman, district judge, district magistrate judge, state senator, state
22 representative or state board of education member, the secretary of state
23 finds that the secretary of state cannot get a fair proportion of party mem-
24 bersregistered voters to give each candidate for congressman, district
25 judge, district magistrate judge, state senator, state representative or state
26 board of education member in any given district an equitable or fair op-
27 portunity to have the candidate's name first on the ballot in the respective
28 counties of the district, the secretary of state shall order the county elec-
29 tion officers in the various counties of the district to rotate the names of
30 the candidates for such district offices according to precinct. If voting
31 machines are used the arrangement of names of candidates or pair of
32 candidates for all offices on the voting machines shall be rotated in the
33 same manner required by this section, as near as may be possible, ac-
34 cording to precinct.
35 The arrangement of the names certified by the secretary of state shall
36 govern the county election officer in arranging the primary election ballot,
37 and the county election officer in preparing the ballot for such officer's
38 county shall follow the same arrangement as provided in this section for
39 the secretary of state, for the candidates nominated for county offices,
40 using the township and precincts of the county in making the division.
41 Sec. 4. K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 25-213 is hereby amended to read as fol-
42 lows: 25-213. (a) At all national and state primary elections, the national
43 and state offices as specified for each in this section shall be printed upon
HB 2326
3
1 the official primary election ballot for national and state offices and the
2 county and township offices as specified for each in this section shall be
3 printed upon the official primary election ballot for county and township
4 offices. Except as provided by K.S.A. 25-213a, and amendments thereto,
5 the official primary election ballots shall have the following heading:
6
OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT
7
________ Party
8 To vote for a person whose name is printed on the ballot make a cross or check mark in
9 the square at the left of the person's name. To vote for a person whose name is not printed
10 on the ballot, write the person's name in the blank space, if any is provided, and make a
11 cross or check mark in the square to the left.
12 The words national and state or the words county and township shall
13 appear on the line preceding the part of the form shown above.
14 (b) The form shown shall be followed by the names of the persons
15 for whom nomination petitions or declarations have been filed according
16 to law for political parties having primary elections, and for the national
17 and state offices in the following order: United States senator, United
18 States representative from ______ district, governor and lieutenant gov-
19 ernor, secretary of state, attorney general, state treasurer, commissioner
20 of insurance, senator ______ district, representative ______ district,
21 district judge ______ district, district magistrate judge ______ district,
22 district attorney ______ judicial district, and member state board of
23 education ______ district. For county and township offices the form
24 shall be followed by the names of persons for whom nomination petitions
25 or declarations have been filed according to law for political parties having
26 primary elections in the following order: commissioner ______ district,
27 county clerk, treasurer, register of deeds, county attorney, sheriff, sur-
28 veyor, township trustee, township treasurer, township clerk. When any
29 office is not to be elected, it shall be omitted from the ballot. Other offices
30 to be elected but not listed, shall be inserted in the proper places. For
31 each office there shall be a statement of the number to vote for. To the
32 left of each name there shall be printed a square.
33 (c) Official primary election ballots may be printed in one or more
34 columns. The names certified by the secretary of state or county election
35 officer shall be printed on official primary election ballots and no others.
36 In case there are no nomination petitions or declarations on file for any
37 particular office, the title to the office shall be printed on the ballot fol-
38 lowed by a blank line with a square, and such title, followed by a blank
39 line, may be printed in the list of candidates published in the official
40 paper. No blank line shall be printed following any office where there are
41 nomination petitions or declarations on file for the office except following
42 the offices of precinct committeeman and precinct committeewoman.
43 (d) Except as otherwise provided in this section,subsection (e):
HB 2326
4
1 (1) No person's name shall be printed more than once on either the
2 official primary election ballot for national and state offices or the official
3 primary election ballot for county and township offices.
4 (2) No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot as
5 a candidate of a political party shall be printed or written in as a candidate
6 for any office on the official primary election ballot of any other political
7 party. If a person is a candidate for the unexpired term for an office, the
8 person's name may be printed on the same ballot as a candidate for the
9 next regular term for such office. The name of any candidate on the ballot
10 may be printed on the same ballot as such candidate and also as a can-
11 didate for precinct committeeman or committeewoman.
12 (3) No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot for
13 national and state offices shall be printed or written in elsewhere on such
14 ballot or on the official primary election ballot for county and township
15 offices except for precinct committeeman or committeewoman.
16 (4) No name that is printed on the official primary election ballot for
17 county and township offices shall be printed or written in on the official
18 primary election ballot for national and state offices or elsewhere on such
19 county and township ballot except for precinct committeeman or
20 committeewoman.
21 (e) If a person is a candidate for the unexpired term for an office, the
22 person's name may be printed on the same ballot as a candidate for the
23 next regular term for such office. The name of any candidate on the ballot
24 may be printed on the same ballot as such candidate and also as a can-
25 didate for precinct committeeman or committeewoman.
26 (f) No person shall be elected to the office of precinct committeeman
27 or precinct committeewoman where no nomination petitions or decla-
28 rations have been filed, unless the person receives at least five write-in
29 votes. As a result of a primary election, no person shall receive the nom-
30 ination and no person's name shall be printed on the official general
31 election ballot when no nomination petitions or declarations were filed,
32 unless the person receives votes equal in number to not less than 10% of
33 the electors who voted for the office of secretary of state at the last pre-
34 ceding general election for such office in the state, county or district in
35 which the office is sought, except that. A candidate for township office
36 may receive the nomination and have such persons name printed on the
37 ballot where no nomination petitions or declarations have been filed if
38 such candidate receives three or more write-in votes. No such person
39 shall be required to obtain more than 5,000 votes.
40 Sec. 5. K.S.A. 25-213a is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-
41 213a. Notwithstanding any provision of K.S.A. 25-213 and amendments
42 thereto, There shall be printed upon the official primary election ballots
43 the following heading (in lieu of the heading otherwise provided by law)
HB 2326
5
1 when the governor and lieutenant governor are to be nominated:
2
OFFICIAL PRIMARY ELECTION BALLOT
3
________ Party
4 "To vote for persons for governor and lieutenant governor whose names are printed on
5 the ballot make a cross or check mark in the square to the left of the names of the persons
6 running together for such offices.
7 "To vote for a person (except governor and lieutenant governor) whose name is printed
8 on the ballot make a cross or check mark in the square to the left of the name of the person
9 for whom you desire to vote. To vote for a person whose name is not printed on the ballot,
10 write such person's name in the blank space provided for thesuch purpose and make a cross
11 or check mark in the square to the left."
12 After the names of each office, there shall be a statement of the number
13 of candidates to vote for, for the particular office, and for one pair of
14 governor and lieutenant governor candidates running together. When the
15 governor, lieutenant governor, secretary of state, attorney general, state
16 treasurer and commissioner of insurance are not to be nominated, no
17 reference to those offices shall appear on the ballot.
18 To the left of the names of governor and lieutenant governor running
19 together, one square shall be printed to the left of the names of each pair
20 running together. No blank lines shall be printed following the offices of
21 governor and lieutenant governor.
22 Sec. 6. K.S.A. 25-215 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-215.
23 (1)(a) No person shall be entitled to vote at any national, state, county
24 or township primary election unless he or shesuch person is a resident
25 of the voting area, a citizen of the United States, at least eighteen (18)18
26 years of age, and duly registered to vote. (2)
27 (b) The provisions as to registration required by existing statutes, and
28 by any amendment now or hereafter made thereto,of law relating to
29 registration shall apply to such primary elections.
30 (c) Any registered voter who is otherwise qualified to vote at any
31 primary election may vote for the candidate of the voter's choice for each
32 office regardless of the political affiliation of the candidate or that of the
33 voter. No person shall be required to make a declaration of political party
34 affiliation prior to voting.
35 Sec. 7. K.S.A. 25-216 is hereby amended to read as follows: 25-216.
36 The right of any person to vote at any national, state, county and township
37 primary election may be challenged by any elector upon the same ground
38 and hissuch person's right to vote be determined in the same manner as
39 at a national, state, county and township general election, except as oth-
40 erwise provided herein.
41 If the person offering his vote be challenged as unqualified on the
42 ground that he is not a member of the party announced by himself, he
43 shall make and subscribe an affidavit in the following form, which shall
HB 2326
6
1 be presented to and retained by the election board, and returned by the
2 supervising judge with the poll list:
3 STATE OF KANSAS, COUNTY OF ________, ss.
4 I, ________, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I am more than eighteen years of
5 age and am qualified to vote under and by virtue of the constitution and the laws of the
6 state of Kansas, and I am an elector of this precinct and election district; that I now reside
7 at ________ (insert street and number, if any) in this precinct, and am a member of
8 and am affiliated with the ______ party; that I have not signed the petition of a member
9 of any other party who is seeking a nomination at this primary election; and that I have not
10 signed the nominating petition of an independent candidate for any office for which can-
11 didates are to be voted for at this primary election.
12
________________
13
Subscribed and sworn to before me, this ____ day of ______, A.D. 19__.
14
________, Judge of Election.
15
16 Sec. 8. K.S.A. 25-210, 25-211, 25-212, 25-213a, 25-215 and 25-216
17 and K.S.A. 1998 Supp. 25-213 and 25-3301 are hereby repealed.
18 Sec. 9. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its
19 publication in the statute book.