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Committee considers allowing Kansas residents outside county — including military and dependents — to serve as election workers
Summary
Members discussed amending eligibility so Kansas residents (not just county residents) and certain nonresident military spouses can work elections, to expand the pool of available poll workers.
The Federal and State Affairs committee discussed adding language to allow residents of the state of Kansas — rather than residents of a particular county — to serve as election workers, and to confirm that certain military members and their dependents who are U.S. citizens remain eligible.
A committee member said testimony from county election officers led to a proposed change following House Bill 2018, which had permitted military members and spouses who are nonresidents to serve. The member summarized the intent: expanding eligibility to include anyone who is a Kansas resident so election officers can hire workers who live in adjacent counties or are stationed at installations such as Fort Leavenworth. “My election clerk, a lot of those folks would love to be election workers on election day … but they're not eligible right now under Kansas statute because they're not residents of that county,” the member said.
Committee members said the change would not compel local clerks to hire specific individuals; hiring decisions would remain at the discretion of the county clerk or county election commissioner.
Ending: Members expressed support for the provision and signaled willingness to fold the House Bill 2018 language into the pending bill; no formal vote was recorded in the transcript.
