New law removes grace period for mail-in ballots

The current three-day “grace period” for mail-in ballots in Kansas will be removed next year after state lawmakers overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto of the legislation last week. 

Senate Bill 4, also referred to as the “Election Day is Election Day” bill, requires that mail-ballots be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2026.

The bill originally passed the House (80-39) and then the Senate (30-10). All local lawmakers voted in favor of the bill except Rep. Francis Awerkamp, who was absent from the vote, it was reported.

Gov. Kelly then vetoed the bill last week, and the Senate (30-10) and the House (84-41) overrode the vote. All local lawmakers voted in favor of the override. 

Currently, ballots that are postmarked by Election Day, which is a Tuesday, are still accepted and counted through Friday. 

“The three-day grace period for mail ballots was a bipartisan solution approved by the Legislature in 2017 to address delays in processing of mail by the United States Postal Service, particularly in rural areas. The goal was to ensure that all Kansans had their votes counted, no matter where they lived,” Gov. Kelly said. “Not only will removing the three-day grace period for mail ballots disenfranchise thousands of Kansas voters, but it also shows a lack of understanding of our elections in Kansas. Implementing this will create confusion among county election officials, who will have to update policies and procedures on handling of mail ballots in a higher turnout election year.” 

The Secretary of State’s Office previously reported that more than 2,000 ballots from the November 2024 election would have been disqualified if the new law had been in place.

Locally, Jackson County Clerk Kristie Richter said that “less than 10” qualified mail-in ballots are received, on average, after Election Day during each election here. 

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