TOPEKA (KSNT) — A last minute court ruling put the 3-day grace period back in place, but state leaders still say the August primary election in Kansas went smooth.
State officials gathered at Memorial Hall in downtown Topeka to certify the results of the August primary election on Tuesday, Sept. 1. There, officials went over the voting statistics.
Kansas Primary Election voting statistics
- 650,383 ballots submitted (2nd most for a primary election in Kansas history)
- 32.3% of registered voters participated
- 223,740 ballots submitted before election day
Officials told our Kansas Capitol Bureau that this primary election went remarkably well.
“We have 105 counties and they have hundreds of staff members,” said Bryan Caskey, Kansas election director. “The counties employ thousands of poll workers, and this primary election was one of the most successful that I’ve ever been a part of.”
“This is the smoothest Primary we’ve ever had,” said Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
This is despite officials facing a challenge that some claim caused confusion among election offices and voters. It’s regarding the three-day grace period in Kansas.
Back in July, Douglas County Judge Carl Folson struck down Kansas Senate Bill 4, a recent law that aims to put an end to the three-day grace period in Kansas. The grace period was designed to give election offices three extra days to count mail in ballots that may have arrived late.
Advocates work to prepare Kansas voters for election day
Attorney General Kris Kobach filed to appeal the decision with the Kansas Supreme Court but was denied. This upheld the reinstatement of the grace period, putting it in place for the Aug. 4 election.
“I would request that the courts never change the rules in the middle of an election again. It is so frustrating,” Schwab said.
Schwab, and other state officials worried the last-minute court ruling would cause confusion. So, we asked Schwab if counties reached out to the state for guidance.
“Yeah, but we have a weekly conference call, and we were really clear once the Supreme Court came down with their decision to plan on the three-day grace period,” Schwab said.
We requested data showing how many grace period ballots were counted during the August election, but the Kansas Secretary of States office is still collecting that information.
For more Kansas Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.
