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Minutes for SB321 - Committee on Federal and State Affairs
Short Title
Providing for a presidential preference primary election on March 19, 2024, and establishing voter registration and voting procedures for such election.
Minutes Content for Thu, Mar 23, 2023
Bill Summary
Jason Long, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, gave an overview of the bill. SB321 provides for a presidential preference primary election. This is a one-time only election which will be held on March 19, 2024. Political parties may opt out by submitting notice to the Secretary of State by Dec. 1, 2023. To be on the ballot a candidate must have: (1) filed with the FEC; and (2) (A) filed a declaration of intent with the $10,000 fee; or (B) filed a petition signed by 1,000 voters affiliated with the party. Advance voting ballots cannot be sent out until 14 days before the election. In-person advance voting begins on Monday of the week before the election. (Attachment 1)
The Chairman called for neutral testimony.
Neutral Oral Testimony
Clay Barker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, spoke as neutral on the bill. He stated this type of primary is different from a regular primary. In this case, the state handles the election, and gives the results to the parties. In the current process, the party allocates the delegates, picks the delegates, and gets them to the convention and back. With this process, you will get a much more accurate result. The cost will be around 4.5 million. There will be much higher turnout with wider participation. The SOS recommends 10 small changes to the bill. (Attachment 2)
The conferee stood for questions.
Senator Caryn Tyson spoke as neutral on the bill. She stated with all of the concerns regarding elections, it makes sense to hold a primary in Kansas instead of a caucus election to nominate candidates for president of the United States. She said the potential multi-million dollar cost can be avoided by moving all Kansas primaries to the same date. (Attachment 3)
The conferee stood for questions.
Rick Piepho, Chair, Kansas County Clerks and Election Officials Association, spoke as neutral on the bill. He stated he is concerned about several things in the bill, including the changes to deadlines will be confusing for voters, the filing fee of $10,000 per candidate will not cover the costs to conduct the election, and provisions for auditing the election have been removed. (Attachment 4)
The Chairman opened for a period of questions and answers.
The Chairman called for proponent testimony.
Proponent Oral Testimony
Dr. Helen VanEtten, former Republican National Committeewoman for Kansas, spoke as a proponent of the bill. She stated the voters of Kansas deserve the opportunity to participate in the process of choosing the presidential candidate. She said the bill would resolve the problem of low participation, and there would be greater flexibility and accessibility for Kansas voters. (Attachment 5)
David Soffer, private citizen, spoke as a proponent of the bill. He stated the Jewish community is in favor of the bill because they observe the Sabbath, which is Friday night sundown to Saturday sundown, and they cannot vote during that time frame. Caucus' are normally held on Saturdays. This bill would allow them the ability to take part in the process. (Attachment 6)
After a period of questions and answers, the Chairman called for opponent testimony.
Opponent Oral Testimony
Davis Hammet, Loud Light Civic Action, spoke as an opponent of the bill. He stated they are concerned with this being an only one time election. He said it's a taxpayer bailout of the Republican party. He agrees the caucus process has many problems, but should not be debated during such a tight time frame. (Attachment 7)
Elaine Stephen, private citizen, spoke as an opponent of the bill. She stated it creates an unfunded mandate for counties, and would strain already overwhelmed election offices. She said the parties would be limited by the constraints of normal elections, and appears to change statue for just one primary. "Why revise the law for one contest?" (Attachment 8)
Opponent Written Only Testimony
Leslie Mark, private citizen (Attachment 9)
Jennifer Day, private citizen (Attachment 10)
Richard Pund, private citizen (Attachment 11)
Isidro Marino, private citizen (Attachment 12)
Following a period of questions and answers, the Chairman closed the hearing on SB321.
