Volume 43 - Issue 22 - May 30, 2024
State of Kansas
Secretary of State
Permanent Administrative Regulations
Article 21.—VOTING EQUIPMENT
7-21-1. Storage of voting equipment. (a) As used in this article of this agency’s regulations, “voting equipment” shall mean an electronic or electromechanical voting system and electronic poll books, as defined in K.S.A. 25-4401 and amendments thereto, and optical scanning equipment, as defined in K.S.A. 25-4601 and amendments thereto, and all associated communication equipment, supervisor or administrator devices, ballot activation devices, and storage media.
(b) Each county election officer shall store all voting equipment in a secured facility to prevent unauthorized entry and to ensure that the voting equipment cannot be tampered with or damaged.
(1) The county election officer shall ensure that only election officials or persons authorized by election officials have access to the secured facility.
(A) Access shall be restricted through the use of badges, unique key locks, or an electronic keypad connected to a security monitoring system. The optimal access control system uniquely identifies each person entering the secured facility, authorizes entry, and automatically logs the date and time of entry.
(B) At no time shall a single individual enter the secured facility alone. Access to the secured facility must include a minimum of two people not affiliated with the same political party. Election staff must always accompany and remain with vendors who require access to voting equipment stored in the secured facility.
(2) The secured facility shall be equipped with monitored entry detection and fire alarm protection as well as temperature control features.
(3) The secured facility’s interior may be monitored by video cameras if the video cameras are routinely tested to ensure they are functioning.
(c) The county election officer shall maintain the following records associated with the secured facility:
(1) access logs that list the name, date, time and purpose for each individual entering and exiting the secured facility;
(2) a list of all inspections of the secured facility and functionality checks of any monitoring systems, that include the date, time, inspector’s name, and findings;
(3) a current inventory of all voting equipment stored in the secure facility indicating the date any voting equipment was permanently removed from or added to storage in the secured facility;
(4) a check-out and return log containing the date and time when each piece of voting equipment was released from and returned to the secured facility and the reason for its removal;
(5) a usage history for each piece of voting equipment listing the elections in which it was used; and
(6) a repair history for each piece of voting equipment that contains the date and nature of each repair or upgrade.
The county election officer may destroy those records enumerated in (c)(1) to (4) after 22 months and must retain those records enumerated in (c)(5) and (6) as long as the associated piece of voting equipment is in the possession of the county election officer.
(d) When voting equipment is delivered to polling places for use on election day, the voting equipment shall be secured with access limited to authorized personnel from the time the equipment leaves the storage facility until its return. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-4415 and K.S.A. 25-4614; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended July 7, 2028; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-21-2. Voting equipment security. Each county election officer shall adopt written procedures to secure the voting equipment. Each county election officer shall review these procedures annually. On or before April 1st of each year, each county election official shall certify to the secretary of state that the annual review and update has been completed. These procedures shall include the following requirements: (a) All computers or other devices used to prepare ballots or to program elections and voting equipment used for voting shall never be connected to the internet. All networking adapters or other communication devices inside or connected to the computer or other device shall be disabled except in the case of a server/client election management system environment. In such server/client environments, networking adapters must only be used to facilitate connections between the air-gapped election management system server and the client devices used to access that server.
(b) Each computer or other device used to prepare ballots or to program elections shall be equipped with software, firmware, or an operating system used only for preparing ballots and programming elections. The software, firmware, or operating system shall be certified by the secretary of state. Each computer used to prepare ballots or to program elections shall also contain software relating to system security, including virus protection.
(c) Each computer or other device shall be accessible only to authorized county election personnel and shall require user authentication for access. Each staff person with access shall have unique login credentials. The election programming computer shall be stored in a secure room with controlled access. This also includes maintaining access logs, locks and seals to control and document access to the secured room.
(d) For each user-initiated event that occurs on a computer or other device used to prepare ballots or to program elections, a log record shall be made of the nature of the event, the date and time of the event, and the person initiating the event.
(e) The election results reported from polling places to the county election office shall be sent only by hand-delivery or phone. Election results reported from the county election office to the secretary of state shall be sent only by fax, phone, hand-delivery, encrypted electronic transfer, or other secured transmission methods approved by the secretary of state. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-4415 and K.S.A. 25-4614; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended July 7, 2008; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 23.—VOTER REGISTRATION
7-23-2. Registration records. (a) The county election officer shall continuously maintain all voter registration records.
(b) To ensure the reliability of all voters’ registration, the county election officer shall keep a separate registration list for each precinct and township in the county and shall update each list before each election.
(c) The county election officer shall keep each application for registration in the office of the county election officer. Any person or organization conducting a voter registration effort shall transmit completed registration application forms to the county election officer regularly as specified by the county election officer.
(d) For purposes of requesting an official application for voter registration, a request “in writing” means any written request, including a single written request or a request accompanied by other requests on the same paper. (Authorized by K.S.A. 25-2304 and 25-2309; implementing K.S.A. 25-2309; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended Feb. 21, 1994; amended Jan. 3, 1997; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-23-4. Notice of places and dates of registration. The notice regarding registration required by K.S.A. 25-2310, and amendments thereto, shall be published one time, at least 10 days before the date the registration books will be open additional hours, as provided in K.S.A. 25-2311, and amendments thereto. If late hours are not required, the notice shall be published one time, at least 10 days before the date the registration books will be closed. The publication notice shall be made in the following form:
NOTICE OF PLACES AND DATES OF REGISTRATION
In compliance with the provisions of K.S.A. 25-2310, notice is hereby given that the books for registration of voters will be open at the following places during regular business hours:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
Persons who apply for services at voter registration agencies may register at the following places during regular business hours:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
*Beginning on the ____ day of ___________, 20____, additional hours of registration will be provided at the following places:
______________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________
At ______ p.m. on the ______ day of ___________, 20____, the books for registration of voters will close and will remain closed until the ______ day of ______________, 20____.
A citizen of the United States who is 18 years of age or older, or will have attained the age of 18 years at the next election, must register before he or she can vote. Registration is open until the close of business on the 21st day before the election.
When a voter has been registered according to law, the voter shall remain registered until the voter changes name by marriage, divorce or other legal proceeding or changes residence. The voter may reregister in person, by mail or other delivery, when registration is open or the voter may reregister on election day.
Application forms shall be provided by the county election officer or the secretary of state upon request. The application shall be signed by the applicant under penalty of perjury.
In Witness Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and seal this ______ day of ___________, 20____.
__________________________
County Election Officer
(SEAL)
* If late hours are not required, omit this paragraph.
(Authorized by K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-2310; implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-2310 and 25-2311; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended Jan. 1, 1974; amended May 1, 1978; amended Sept. 24, 1990; amended Jan. 3, 1997; amended Feb. 24, 2012; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 24.—SUPPLIES FOR VOTING PLACES
7-24-2. Chain of custody documents. Chain of custody documents for election supplies, including ballots and poll books, shall be made and given in the following manner: (a) All chain of custody documents for election supplies, including ballots and poll books, shall be on forms provided by the county election officer so that photocopies are clearly legible. The county election officer shall make provisions for each of the kinds and types of election supplies received by the supervising judge. The forms shall clearly state the in-person early voting location or polling place including all precincts assigned to the polling place.
(b) At the time the supervising judge receives election supplies, including ballots and poll books, a chain of custody document shall be made, signed, and dated by the supervising judge.
(c) Upon the return of the election supplies required by law to be returned to the county election officer, a chain of custody document shall be made, signed and dated by the county election officer, or the duly authorized deputy, for the supplies returned.
(d) Items that shall be included on chain of custody documents are poll books, ballots, party affiliation lists, USB drives, ballot containers, provisional ballot envelopes, returned mail ballots, and miscellaneous supplies.
(e) A chain of custody document, on a form approved by the secretary of state, shall be completed for every remote ballot drop box used in any election.
(f) A chain of custody document, on a form approved by the secretary of state, shall be completed each time the U.S. postal service delivers returned ballots or undeliverable ballots. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-2707; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 25.—ABSTRACTS OF VOTES CAST
7-25-1. Certification. A certificate of validity shall be made for each copy of the three abstracts of votes cast at each voting place for every election. This certificate shall be printed upon or permanently appended to each abstract. The certificate shall be as follows:
CERTIFICATE FOR ABSTRACT OF VOTES CAST
We, the undersigned, who are all the judges and clerks of the election board of
_____________________________________________________
(Voting Place)
on the ______ day of _____________, 20___, do hereby certify that the candidates whose names appear in the appended abstracts received the number of votes cast as written opposite their names, and that the votes cast on questions submitted are as therein indicated.
| ___________________________ | |
| ___________________________ | Judges |
| ___________________________ | |
| ___________________________ | |
| ___________________________ | Clerks |
NOTE: Provide as many signature lines as there are judges and clerks. Voting place must be shown by township or precinct and ward for partisan elections. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-3006; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 26.—CERTIFICATES OF NOMINATION AND ELECTION
7-26-1. Certificate of nomination. Every certificate of nomination issued by a county election officer shall be in the following form:
CERTIFICATE OF NOMINATION
I, _________________________________, County Election Officer of __________________ County, Kansas, do hereby certify that at the Primary Election in said county on the _____ day of __________________, 20____, __________________ received the highest number of votes cast by the _______________ party for the office of ____________________ as appears in the official canvass made by the County Board of Canvassers, at its meeting held on the _____ day of ______________, 20____, and is therefore entitled to a place on the official ballot as such candidate of said party at the General Election to be held on __________________, 20____.
In Testimony Whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed my official seal, this _______ day of _______________, 20____.
________________________________
County Election Officer
SEAL
The above certificate may be adapted for city and school elections by omitting any reference to party nomination. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-3110; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-26-2. Certificate of election. Every certificate of election issued by a county election officer shall be in the following form:
CERTIFICATE OF ELECTION
State of Kansas
County of ______________
I, ________________, County Election Officer of _______________ County, Kansas, do hereby certify that at the General Election held on the _______ day of _________, 20___, ____________________ was duly elected to the office of ___________ as appears from the official canvass by the County Board of Canvassers made on the _______ day of ___________, 20____.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand and caused to be affixed my official seal, this _______ day of __________________, 20_____.
SEAL
________________________________
County Election Officer
(Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-3110; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 27.—PARTY AFFILIATION
7-27-1. Maintenance of party affiliation lists. Party affiliation lists shall be maintained according to the following requirements: (a) (1) Before each primary and general election, each county election officer shall certify to the secretary of state the number of members of each party in each precinct of the election officer’s county as shown by the party affiliation list and a total number for each party for the county. Before each primary election, the county election officer shall prepare an alphabetical list of electors by surname for each precinct, showing each elector’s name, address, and party affiliation.
(2) After each primary election at which national, state, county, township, and, where applicable, city candidates are nominated, the county election officer shall prepare a new party affiliation list for each precinct. The party affiliation list shall include the names of all electors who voted in the primary election, and the names of all electors who have declared their party affiliation as provided by statute.
(b) If at any time a registered voter declares or changes that voter’s party affiliation, that declaration or change shall be made on the party affiliation list. Whenever a voter’s name is removed from the registration list as provided by K.S.A. 25-2316c, and amendments thereto, that voter’s name shall also be removed from the party affiliation list.
(c) The party affiliation list shall be maintained on the voter registration database. (Authorized by K.S.A. 25-3302; implementing K.S.A. 25-3302 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-3303; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended Jan. 1, 1974; modified, L. 1978, ch. 451, May 1, 1978; amended Oct. 18, 1993; amended Oct. 1, 2004; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 28.—SUFFICIENCY OF PETITIONS
7-28-1. Determination. In determining the sufficiency of signatures or names on a petition if the specific statute governing the petition does not provide guidance in determining the validity of signatures, the following requirements shall apply: (a) If the last name in the signature on the petition is not spelled identically to the last name in the registration books, the signature shall be considered improper and insufficient.
(b) If a signature contains initials that are consistent with the names or initials as they appear in the registration books and if the last name in the signature on the petition is identical to the last name in the registration books and the address is identical, the signature shall be considered proper and sufficient.
(c) If a signature contains a nickname or abbreviation that is commonly accepted for a given name as it appears in the registration books, including “Wm.” or “Bill” for William, and if the last name is identical and the address is identical, the signature shall be considered proper and sufficient.
(d) Prefixes to names including “Mr.,” “Mrs.,” “Miss,” and “Dr.,” shall be disregarded.
(e) Notwithstanding any of the requirements in subsections (a) through (d) of this regulation, if there is evidence leading the election officer to believe that any signature is not genuine, the signature shall be considered improper and insufficient.
(f) In all cases not provided for by these requirements, a signature shall be considered proper and sufficient if it bears such a similarity that it reasonably appears to be the same signature as that contained in the registration books.
(g) Each county election office employee who reviews the sufficiency of signatures on a petition must receive training approved by the secretary of state before determining the validity of a signature. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-3604; effective Jan. 1, 1972; amended May 1, 1978; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 36.—ABSENTEE AND ADVANCE VOTING
7-36-1. Absentee and advance voting ballot envelopes. (a) In addition to the requirements of K.S.A. 25-1120 and 25-1121, each absentee and advance voting ballot envelope to be signed by a voter shall contain the following statement: “NOTICE TO VOTER: Your (absentee/advance voting) ballot will be separated from this signed (absentee/advance voting) ballot envelope in order to guarantee the confidentiality of your vote.”
(b) Absentee and advance voting ballot envelopes shall be preserved in accordance with K.S.A. 25-2708. The envelopes shall be placed in separate envelopes or sacks, appropriately labeled and sealed. Access to the envelopes shall be subject to the provisions of K.S.A. 25-2708 and K.S.A. 25-3107. (Authorized by K.S.A. 25-1131 and K.S.A. 25-1225; implementing K.S.A. 25-1120 and K.S.A. 25-1219; effective Feb. 21, 1994; amended, T-7-7-3-95, July 3, 1995; amended Aug. 25, 1995; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-36-2. Advance voting voter; classification as permanent. A voter shall not be classified as a permanent advance voting voter by the county election officer unless the voter, or a person on the voter’s behalf, has completed in its entirety an application for permanent advance voting voter status. The completed application shall specify the character of the voter’s permanent disability or illness and shall be approved by the county election officer. (Authorized by K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-1122 and K.S.A. 25-1131; implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-1122; effective Feb. 21, 1994; amended, T-7-7-3-95, July 3, 1995; amended Aug. 25, 1995; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-36-3. Advance voting voter; assistance. Assisting an elector pursuant to K.S.A. 25-1124 shall include, but not be limited to, the following acts: (a) transmitting an unmarked advance voting ballot to an elector;
(b) aiding the elector in marking the advance voting ballot;
(c) transmitting the marked ballot to the county election officer by moving the envelope containing the marked ballot to a U.S. postal service container, county remote secure ballot container, secure ballot container at a polling place, or the county election office; or
(d) any combination of the above acts. (Authorized by K.S.A. 25-1131; implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-1124; effective Feb. 21, 1994; amended, T-7-7-3-95, July 3, 1995; amended Aug. 25, 1995; amended June 14, 2024.)
7-36-6. Advance voting list with voting place. (a) Each county election officer shall adopt procedures to prevent a voter from casting both an advance by mail or in-person voting ballot and a regular ballot during in-person advance voting and at the voter’s polling place on election day.
(b) The procedures shall include, but not be limited to, the following acts:
(1) During early advance voting (in person and by mail), transferring data nightly from electronic poll books to state voter registration software to update voter history for in-person and newly issued and returned mail ballots.
(2) Before election day, updating paper rosters and/or electronic poll books by adding the names of voters who voted in person and/or returned advance voting mail ballots after the poll books were prepared. (Authorized by K.S.A. 25-1131; implementing K.S.A. 25-1126; effective Feb. 21, 1994; amended, T-7-7-3-95, July 3, 1995; amended Aug. 25, 1995; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 38.—NATIONAL VOTER REGISTRATION ACT
7-38-1. National voter registration act; systematic list maintenance; national change of address files. (a) Once each calendar year, the chief state election official shall complete a check of the United States postal service national change of address files using the list of registered voters maintained in the state’s central voter registration voter database.
(b) If the county election officer chooses to participate in the national change of address program instead of conducting mass or targeted mailings, the chief state election official shall send the name of each registered voter for whom records from the national change of address files indicate a change of address to the county election officer of the county where the voter is registered, as indicated on the central voter registration database.
(c) A county election officer shall send a confirmation mailing as prescribed by K.S.A. 25-2316c and amendments thereto to any registered voter for whom records from the national change of address files indicate a change of address. The confirmation mailing shall be sent when the county election officer receives the information described in subsection (b). If the records indicate a change of address within the county where the voter is registered, the county election officer shall change the voter’s address to the new address before sending the confirmation mailing. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 25-2354; effective Jan. 3, 1997; amended March 23, 2001; amended June 14, 2024.)
Article 47.—ELECTION AUDITS
7-47-1. Postelection audit implementation. The requirements of this regulation shall not apply to local question elections or mail-ballot elections pursuant to K.S.A. 25-431 through 25-441 and amendments thereto.
(a) As used in K.S.A. 25-3009 and amendments thereto, the term “unofficial election night returns” shall include ballots cast and counted on election day, ballots cast in advance and counted on election day, and ballots cast by means of the uniformed and overseas citizens absentee voting act (UOCAVA) procedures and counted on election day. This term shall not include any ballots cast that are challenged or marked as provisional or any ballots that are cast in advance and received after election day.
(b) Each county election officer shall complete the training provided by the secretary of state. As specified in K.S.A. 25-3009 and amendments thereto, each county election officer shall provide training to the election board conducting the postelection audit. The training shall include the identification of voter intent specific to the vote-casting technologies in use across Kansas.
(c)(1) An auditable race and precinct shall be a race and precinct meeting the requirements in K.S.A. 25-3009, and amendments thereto, for an audit to be conducted. The random selection of races and precincts shall take place in a public setting, and the procedure to randomize the selection of races and precincts shall be determined solely by each county election officer and the secretary of state but must use a physical random method and not an electronic random number generator. Upon completion of the audit, each election board shall transmit to the secretary of state and the county election office the results of the audit no later than 48 hours before the meeting of the county board of canvassers.
(2) In even-year elections, within 24 hours of the closing of the final polling location in Kansas, the list of randomly selected races to be audited shall be transmitted by the secretary of state to each county election officer. Each county election officer shall examine each race in the order specified until an auditable race is determined. Each county election officer shall then randomly select one percent of the total county precincts from the subset of auditable precincts. If no contested race exists, the election board shall audit the first race listed.
(3) In odd-year elections, each county election officer shall randomly select the races and then each precinct to be audited.
(d) Ballot images may not be used for the manual audit. (Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-3009 and K.S.A. 2023 Supp. 25-2912; effective, T-7-6-26-19, June 26, 2019; effective Sept. 27, 2019; amended Oct. 13, 2023; amended, T-7-3-5-24, March 5, 2024; amended June 14, 2024.)
Scott Schwab
Secretary of State
Doc. No. 052177
