CHAPTER 49
HOUSE BILL No. 2854
An Act concerning elections; relating to ballots and ballot
applications; relating to election
machines; amending K.S.A. 25-1329 and 25-4406 and K.S.A. 1999 Supp.
25-1122d and
25-2316c and repealing the existing sections.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Kansas:
Section 1. K.S.A. 25-1329 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 25-
1329. For the instruction of voters on any election day,
there shall be
provided for each polling place a mechanically operated
model of a por-
tion of the face of the machine. Such model shall be
located in some place
accessible to the voters. Each voter so desiring shall
before entering the
enclosure of the voting machine, be instructed regarding
its operation
and such instruction illustrated on the model and the voter
given an op-
portunity personally to operate the model. Upon
request of a voter at a
polling place, instruction on the operation of voting machines
shall be
provided. Such instruction may include printed materials or
demonstra-
tion by election board workers. The voter's attention
may also may be
called to the diagram of the face of the machine so that the voter
may
become familiar with the location of the questions and the names of
the
offices and candidates.
Sec. 2. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 25-1122d
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 25-1122d. (a) The application for an advance voting ballot
shall
be accompanied by an affirmation in substance as follows:
Affirmation of an Elector of the County of ________ and State
of Kansas Desiring
to Vote an Advance Voting Ballot
State of ________, County of ________, ss:
I,
,
(Please
print name)
do solemnly affirm that I am a qualified elector of the
precinct of the
ward, residing at number ________ on ________ street, city of
________, or
in the township of ________, county of ________, and state of
Kansas. My date
of birth is ________ (month/day/year).
I am entitled to vote an advanced voting ballot and I have
not voted and will not otherwise
vote at the election to be held on ________ (date). My political
party is ________
(to be filled in only when requesting primary election ballots). I
desire my ballots to be sent
to the following address
Signature
of voter.
Note: False statement on this affirmation is a
class C misdemeanor.
(b) An application for permanent advance
voting status shall be on a
form prescribed by the secretary of state for this purpose. Such
applica-
tion shall contain an affirmation concerning substantially the same
infor-
mation required in subsection (a) and in addition thereto a
statement
regarding the permanent character of such illness or
disability.
(c) Any application by a former precinct
resident shall state both the
former and present residence, address, precinct and county of such
for-
mer precinct resident and the date of change of residence.
Sec. 3. K.S.A. 1999 Supp. 25-2316c
is hereby amended to read as
follows: 25-2316c. (a) When a registered voter changes name by
marriage,
divorce or legal proceeding, if such voter is otherwise qualified
to vote at
such voting place such voter shall be allowed to vote a provisional
ballot
at any election, or apply for an advance voting ballot, on the
condition
that such voter first completes the application for registration
prescribed
by K.S.A. 25-2309, and amendments thereto. Completion of the
appli-
cation shall authorize the county election officer to update the
registration
records, if appropriate, for voting in future elections. The county
election
officer shall send, by nonforwardable mail, a notice of disposition
to any
voter completing such application.
(b) When a registered voter changes
residence, such voter shall rer-
egister in order to be eligible to vote, except that when a
registrant has
moved from an address on the registration book to another address
within
the county and has not reregistered, such registrant shall be
allowed to
vote a provisional ballot at any election, or to apply for an
advance voting
ballot, on the condition that such registrant first completes the
application
for registration prescribed by K.S.A. 25-2309, and amendments
thereto.
Completion of the application shall authorize the county election
officer
to update the registration record, if appropriate, for voting in
future elec-
tions. The county election officer shall send, by nonforwardable
first-class
mail, a notice of disposition to any such voter. Whenever the
county elec-
tion officer receives from any other election officer a notice of
registration
of a voter in a different place than that shown in the records of
the county
election officer, such officer shall remove the name of such voter
from
the registration book and party affiliation list.
(c) Every application for registration
completed under this section
shall be returned to the county election officer with the
registration books.
(d) A registrant shall not be removed
from the registration list on the
ground that the registrant has changed residence unless the
registrant:
(1) Confirms in writing that the
registrant has moved outside the
county in which the registrant is registered, or registers to vote
in any
other jurisdiction; or
(2) has failed to respond to the notice
described in subsection (e) and
has not appeared to vote in an election during the period beginning
on
the date of the notice and ending on the day after the date of the
second
federal general election that occurs after the date of the
notice.
(e) A county election officer shall send
a confirmation notice upon
which a registrant may state such registrant's current address,
within 45
days of the following events:
(1) A notice of disposition of an
application for voter registration is
returned as undeliverable;
(2) change of address information
supplied by the National Change
of Address program identifies a registrant whose address may
have
changed;
(3) if it appears from information
provided by the postal service that
a registrant has moved to a different residence address in the
county in
which the registrant is currently registered; or
(4) if it appears from information
provided by the postal service that
a registrant has moved to a different residence address outside the
county
in which the registrant is currently registered.
The confirmation notice shall be sent by
forwardable mail and shall
include a postage prepaid and preaddressed return card in a form
pre-
scribed by the chief state election official.
(f) Except as otherwise provided by law,
when a voter dies or is dis-
qualified for voting, the registration of the voter shall be void,
and the
county election officer shall remove such voter's name from the
registra-
tion books and the party affiliation lists. Whenever (1) an
obituary notice
appears in a newspaper having general circulation in the county
reports
the death of a registered voter, or (2) a registered voter requests
in writing
that such voter's name be removed from registration, or (3) a court
of
competent jurisdiction orders removal of the name of a registered
voter
from registration lists, or (4) the name of a registered voter
appears on a
list of deceased residents compiled by the secretary of health and
envi-
ronment as provided in K.S.A. 65-2422, and amendments thereto,
or
appears on a copy of a death certificate provided by the secretary
of health
and environment, the county election officer shall remove from the
reg-
istration books and the party affiliation lists in such officer's
office the
name of any person shown by such list or death certificate to be
deceased.
The county election officer shall not use or permit the use of such
lists
of deceased residents or copies for any other purpose than provided
in
this section.
(g) When the chief state election
official receives written notice of a
felony conviction in a United States district court, such official
shall notify
within five days the county election officer of the jurisdiction in
which
the offender resides. Upon notification of a felony conviction from
the
chief state election official, or from a county or district
attorney or a
Kansas district court, the county election officer shall remove the
name
of the offender from the registration records.
(h) Except as otherwise provided in this
section, no person whose
name has been removed from the registration books shall be entitled
to
vote until such person has registered again.
Sec. 4. K.S.A. 25-4406 is hereby
amended to read as follows: 25-
4406. Electronic or electromechanical voting systems approved by
the
secretary of state:
(a) Shall provide facilities for voting
for the candidates for nomination
or election of at least seven different political parties;
(b) shall permit a voter to vote for any
independent candidate for any
office;
(c) shall provide for voting on
constitutional amendments or other
questions submitted;
(d) shall be so constructed that, as to
primaries where candidates are
nominated by political parties, the voter can vote only for the
candidates
of the political party with which the voter is affiliated or, if
not affiliated,
according to the voter's declaration when applying to vote;
(e) shall afford the voter an opportunity
to vote for any or all candi-
dates for an office for whom the voter is by law entitled to vote
and no
more, and at the same time shall prevent the voter from voting for
the
same candidate twice for the same office;
(f) shall be so constructed that in
presidential elections the presiden-
tial electors of any political party may be voted for by one mark
or punch;
(g) shall provide facilities for
``write-in'' votes;
(h) shall provide for voting in absolute
secrecy, except as to persons
entitled to assistance;
(i) shall reject all votes for an office
or upon a question submitted
when the voter has cast more votes for such office or upon such
question
than the voter is entitled to cast; and
(j) shall provide mechanical
models suitable for the instruction of
voters, illustrating the manner of voting by the use of
such systems for
instruction of voters on the operation of voting machines,
illustrating the
manner of voting by the use of such systems. The instruction may
include
printed materials or demonstration by election board
workers.
Sec. 5. K.S.A. 25-1329 and 25-4406 and K.S.A. 1999
Supp. 25-1122d
and 25-2316c are hereby repealed.
Sec. 6. This act shall take effect and be in force
from and after its
publication in the statute book.
Approved March 31, 2000.
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