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Committee hears bill allowing late withdrawal of local candidates, clarifies joint gubernatorial filings
Summary
A Senate committee heard testimony on a bill that would let local candidates withdraw after the filing deadline for limited reasons — certified severe medical hardship, moving out of the district, or death — and would clarify that withdrawal of a governor or lieutenant governor candidate ends the joint ticket and requires a new filing.
A Kansas Senate committee heard testimony on Senate Bill 392, which would amend state election statutes to allow candidates for local offices to withdraw after the filing deadline under limited circumstances and to clarify how joint gubernatorial candidacies are handled.
Jason, committee staff, told the committee the bill "provides for withdrawal under limited circumstances" for school districts, cities and townships and that withdrawals would be permitted when a candidate faces "a severe medical hardship on the part of the candidate as certified by a physician who signs the certification" or if the candidate certifies to the county election officer that they no longer reside in the district. If the certification is received by Sept. 1, he said, "the candidate's name would be withdrawn and not printed on the general election ballot for that year." He also said a candidate's death prior to Sept. 1 would remove their name from the ballot.
Clay Barker, general counsel for the Kansas Secretary of State, provided background on the changes, tracing earlier tightening of withdrawal rules after high‑profile withdrawals at the statewide level. Barker said the bill applies similar mechanics to odd‑year municipal elections and resolves uncertainty about candidate death and withdrawal procedures.
On joint tickets, Barker said the bill clarifies that if either the governor or lieutenant governor candidate withdraws, "that withdrawal terminates the joint candidacy" and the remaining candidate must file a new joint candidacy with a new running mate, including the required paperwork and fee.
Senators asked technical questions about timing and primary ballots. Senator Blue asked whether the Sept. 1 deadline applied when a primary occurs before that date; Jason and Barker said the Sept. 1 date is intended for general election ballots and that primary timing and ballot‑printing logistics are handled by the secretary of state's office.
Barker said that if a candidate remains on a printed ballot but is elected, votes would be certified and a vacancy declared and filled under existing law (for partisan offices, party precinct leaders typically select a replacement; for nonpartisan offices, local procedures apply).
The committee recorded written proponent testimony and closed the hearing; no committee vote on the bill was taken during this meeting.
The committee plans further work as needed; no final action was taken on Senate Bill 392 at this meeting.
