25-433. Mailing of ballots; voting instructions; return envelopes, payment of postage and forms; voting by electors, procedure; replacement ballots; counting, handling and canvass of ballots; purging
25-433
25-433. Mailing of ballots; voting instructions;return envelopes, payment of postage and forms; voting by electors, procedure;replacement ballots; counting, handling and canvass of ballots; purging ofnames of voters whose ballots are undeliverable from registration books andparty affiliation list.(a) The county election officer shall mail all official ballots with a returnidentification envelope and instructions sufficient to describe the votingprocess to each elector entitled to vote in the election on one date notsooner than the 20th day before the date of the election and not later thanthe 10th day before the date of the election. Ballots mailed by the countyelection officer shall be addressed to the address of each elector appearing inthe registration records, and placed in an envelope which is prominently marked"Do Not Forward." Ballots shall not be mailed to any inactive voter who,based on information provided by the postal service, appears to have moved to aresidence address outside the county in which the voter is currently registeredand who has been mailed a confirmation notice as described in subparagraph (4)of subsection (e) of K.S.A. 25-2316c, and amendments thereto, or because a"Forwarding Order Expired" or "Moved -- No Forwarding Address" notice wasreceived from the post office. Any inactive voterwho believes such voter is entitled to vote in the election may request areplacement ballot as provided for in subsection (d) of this section.
(b) Upon receipt of the ballot the elector shall mark it, sign the returnidentification envelope supplied with the ballot and comply with theinstructions provided with the ballot. The elector may return the markedballot to the county election officer by United States mail, if it is receivedby the county election officer by the date of the election, or personallydeliver the ballot to the office of the county election officer before noon onthe date of the election. The ballot shall be returned in the returnidentification envelope. The county election officer shall provide for thepayment of postage for the return of ballot envelopes.
(c) The return identification envelope shall contain the following form:
I declare under penalty of election perjury, a felony, that I am aresident and a qualified voter for this election as shown on voter registrationrecordsand that I have voted the enclosed ballot and am returning it in compliancewith Kansas law, and amendments thereto, and have not and will not votemore than one ballot in this election.
I also understand that failure to complete the information below willinvalidate my ballot.
____________________________________ Signature
____________________________________ Residence Address
(d) If the ballot is destroyed, spoiled, lost or not received by the elector,the elector may obtain a replacement ballot from the county election officeras provided in this subsection. An elector seeking a replacement ballotshall sign a statement verified on oath or affirmation, on a form prescribedby the secretary of state, that the ballot was destroyed, spoiled, lostor not received. The applicant shall deliver the statement to the countyelection officer before noon on the date of the election. The applicantmay mail the statement to the county election officer, except a county electionofficer shall not transmit a ballot by mail under this subsection unlessthe application is received prior to the close of business on the secondday prior to the election. When an application is timely received underthis subsection, the county election officer shall deliver the ballot tothe voter if the voter is present in the office of the county election officer,or promptly transmit the ballot by mail to the voter at the address containedin the application, except when prohibited in this subsection. The countyelection officer shall keep a record of each replacement ballot providedunder this subsection.
(e) A ballot shall be counted only if: (1) It is returned in the returnidentification envelope; (2) the envelope is signed by the elector to whomthe ballot is issued; and (3) the signature has been verified as providedin this subsection. The county election officer shall verify the signatureof each elector on the return identification envelope with the signatureon the elector's registration records and may commence verification at anytime prior to the canvass of the election. If the county election officerdetermines that an elector to whom a replacement ballot has been issuedunder subsection (d) has voted more than once, the county election officershall not count any ballot cast by that elector.
(f) The county election officer shall supervise the procedures for thehandling and canvassing of ballots to insure the safety and confidentialityof all ballots properly cast.
(g) The names of voters whose mail ballot envelopes are returned tothe county election officer as "undeliverable" shall be subject to removalfrom the voter registration book and party affiliation list in the mannerprovided in subsection (d) of K.S.A. 25-2316c, and amendments thereto.
History: L. 1983, ch. 125, § 3;L. 1984, ch. 138, § 1;L. 1987, ch. 125, § 1;L. 1999, ch. 105, § 1;L. 2008, ch. 165, § 1; May 29.