Committee hears bill to bar federal funds for voter registration and assistance

Senate Federal and State Affairs heard Senate Bill 5, which would amend K.S.A. 25-2436 to prohibit election officials from accepting or spending federal government funds for elections and election-related activities, including voter registration and voter assistance, unless the use is expressly authorized by the legislature.

The bill’s sponsor-review explanation came from Jason Long of the Office of the Revisor of Statutes, who told the committee the change would add monies provided by “any branch, agency, department, office, or bureau of the federal government” to current prohibitions on private contributions to election officials and would extend the ban to election-related activities. Long said the bill preserves existing exemptions for uses specifically authorized by appropriation and leaves the penalty unchanged…