Key Votes

HB 2503 repeals the Kansas Mail Ballot Election Act, eliminating the option for local governments to conduct special elections — like school bonds, annexations, and water district questions — by mail. These are the very elections that determine funding for public services and infrastructure where union members work. Ending mail ballots for these elections creates real barriers for workers on rotating shifts, overnight schedules, or 12-hour days who can't easily get to a polling place on a Tuesday.

HB 2453 cuts off in-person advance voting before election week, moves the voter registration deadline to 25 days before the election, and requires mail ballot applications 14 days earlier. These restrictions hit shift workers, hourly employees, and newly organized members hardest — the very people who rely on weekend voting and late registration because their work schedules don't allow flexibility. The bill also compresses the window unions use for worksite voter registration drives ahead of elections.

This bill requires any website used for voter registration to either have a .gov domain or get pre-approval from the Secretary of State, with violations carrying criminal misdemeanor charges. Unions and community organizations that run voter registration drives could be shut out of online registration if the Secretary of State denies or delays approval — and the bill includes no timeline, appeal process, or objective standards for those decisions. The result is a new layer of government gatekeeping over civic engagement tools that labor and allied organizations rely on to register working people to vote.