Committee approves amendment to tie mail-in voting repeal to final court orders; extends notice window to 45 days
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Summary
Senate Bill 394 would allow assistance with advance voter ballots and includes a conditional repealer that would remove advanced mail voting if a signature-verification requirement is invalidated; the committee amended the bill to change a 30-day timing trigger to 45 days and advanced it to the floor.
The committee advanced Senate Bill 394 after adopting an amendment to delay any administrative publication tied to court rulings until after election certification.
"In addition to if the voter is physically unable to sign the envelope... the individual assisting them would sign the envelope, including the affidavit," Jason told the committee, describing the bill's provisions on assistance for voters who cannot sign consistently with the voter registration signature. Jason also said the bill would enact a conditional repealer: "If the provision for signature verification ... is ruled unconstitutional or is enjoined by a final order or judgment that's not subject to appeal, then such decision is to be published in the Kansas Register. And upon such publication, then, the statutes that provide for advanced voting by mail in Kansas will be repealed."
Committee members raised timing and administrative concerns. The chair cited the Purcell principle — courts should avoid changing election rules shortly before an election — and the committee discussed a timing amendment to avoid invalidating mail ballots during the period election offices are sending or receiving advance-ballot requests. Senator Francisco asked how the judgment date would be determined and whether county clerks' mailing schedules could make a 30-day cutoff problematic.
The committee adopted a conceptual amendment changing the 30-day publication/repealer trigger to 45 days to give election officials additional notice. Members also questioned practical effects: Jason confirmed that, if the conditional repealer triggered repeal of advance voting statutes, drop boxes would no longer be a permissible return method and mechanisms that allow family or caregivers to deliver multiple ballots ("no more than 10 ballots") to election offices would be affected. He also confirmed that the permanent list for disabled or senior voters is part of the advance-voting statutes and would be impacted if those statutes were repealed.
Senator Blue moved that SB 394 be passed favorably as amended; Senator Murphy seconded. The committee approved the motion by voice vote and the bill was sent to the floor.
The measure combines expanded assistance for certain voters with a contingent, court-triggered change that committee members said they wanted to buffer from immediate effect around an election.
