The Kansas Legislature has voted to override Governor Laura Kelly’s veto of a bill dealing with mail ballots in elections.  The bill would eliminate the three-day grace period for mail ballots to be returned.  The Kansas House and Senate voted Tuesday to override the veto.

In her veto message Monday, the governor said, “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.  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.  This bill is an attack on rural Kansans who want to participate in the electoral process guaranteed by our Constitution.”

ACLU of Kansas executive director Micah Kubic issued a statement in response to the veto override, saying, “This legislation is out of touch with the reality that Kansans live and simply weakens Kansas’s democracy by punishing voters for postal delays. Everyday Kansans know that the mail requires time to arrive, especially in rural parts of the state, and that mail ballots are crucial for thousands of rural, disabled, and elderly Kansas voters to exercise their right to vote.”