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Senate committee advances bill banning ranked‑choice voting; amendments to narrow the ban fail
Summary
Senate Bill 6, which would prohibit ranked‑choice voting in Kansas and void local ordinances permitting it before July 1, 2025, passed favorably out of the Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee after the committee rejected two amendments to narrow its scope.
The Senate Federal and State Affairs Committee voted to advance Senate Bill 6, a bill that would prohibit ranked‑choice voting in any election conducted in Kansas and nullify any local ordinance, resolution or regulation adopting ranked‑choice methods before July 1, 2025.
Jason Long, Office of the Revisor of Statutes, told the committee the bill defines ranked‑choice voting, forbids “any form of ranked choice voting methods in any elections conducted in the state,” and nullifies prior local measures that allowed ranked‑choice voting. The bill text also refers to elections at multiple levels and includes an explicit July 1, 2025 cutoff for local actions taken earlier.
Committee debate focused on the reach of the prohibition. Senator Francisco offered an amendment to limit the ban to state elected offices; the amendment was moved and seconded and then defeated on a voice vote. Francisco later proposed a conceptual amendment to strike the word “Federal” from the bill’s language (removing an explicit federal reference); that conceptual amendment also failed on a voice vote. Members expressed different views about municipal home‑rule authority and the legal hurdles cities would face if they adopted ranked‑choice methods in defiance of state statute. Jason Long said a municipality could attempt to impose ranked‑choice voting, but that it would face a significant legal hurdle under uniform‑application arguments.
Senator Blue moved the committee report to pass SB6 favorably; Senator Murphy seconded. The motion carried on a voice vote and the bill is headed to the Senate floor.
Committee members flagged potential legal questions about home rule and the interaction of state law with federal elections; Long said that if Congress enacted a nationwide ranked‑choice requirement and allowed states to opt out, the interplay would be different, but absent such federal action state law governs how state and local elections are run. No roll‑call tallies were recorded in the committee transcript; votes were taken by voice and recorded as passed or failed.
The committee did not take additional amendments after the final passage motion and closed its business on the bill that day.
