Voting & Elections in Kansas

Absentee and advance voting

Opening/closing dates

• To vote absentee, an application must be received by the Tuesday prior to the election.
• A returned absentee ballot must be postmarked on or before Election Day

Military voters and voters who reside outside the U.S.

• The Federal Voting Assistance Program website provides information, forms, and contacts for service members, their families, and overseas citizens.
• Overseas voting, or federal services voting, is available for military personnel and their dependents as well as civilians and their dependents living abroad. A voter must meet the criteria established by the federal Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. Voters voting under the UOCAVA are exempt from Kansas’ photo ID requirements under the SAFE Act.

Who is eligible to use an absentee or advance ballot?

• All voters are eligible to vote absentee in Kansas. There are no special eligibility requirements for voting absentee.
• Any registered voter can vote in advance of the election. You have two options:
  1. Request an absentee ballot, and vote in advance by mail. Absentee ballots may be requested from your local election authority. After your request is submitted, you will receive an absentee ballot by mail. Submit your completed ballot to your local election office by Election Day.
  2. Many counties in Kansas offer advance, in-person voting. Counties may offer in-person voting up to 20 days prior to the primary election. Check with your local election office to find out whether advance, in-person voting is offered in your community.

Polling places and hours

• Locate your polling place: https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/PollingPlaceSearch.do
• For a general election or primary, polling places in Kansas are required to open at 7:00 a.m. and close at 7:00 p.m. on Election Day, but the county may open the polls earlier and close them later. All voters who are in line when the polls close are allowed to vote.
• Time off to vote: Kansas employers must provide enough paid time off to vote to give the employee a total of two hours off while polls are open, when combined with the employee’s regular non-work hours. Employers may decide when the employee takes this time, but cannot require an employee to use a regular meal break for this purpose.

Rides to the polls

Many organizations offer free rides to polling places on election day. Some of these include:

• Both Uber and Lyft (www.lyft.com) provide free or discounted rides to the polls in some underserved Kansas communities
• The Kansas City Area Transportation Authority has offered riders free rides to the polls on any Ride KC route serving Johnson County or Wyandotte County.
• The NAACP has also offered free transportation to the polls between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
• Political parties sometimes arrange rides for voters. Check with your local offices.

Help for voters with disabilities

• The Disability Rights Center of Kansas offers provides information on the voting laws in Kansas.
• If you have a permanent disability, you may be eligible for permanent advanced voter status. Download the Permanent Advanced Voter Application
• Some counties in Kansas are using Ballot Marking Devices to assist disabled voters in marking a paper ballot, which is then scanned or counted manually.
• Curbside voting is made available to voters with disabilities and elderly voters who choose to vote outside the polling place have a right to do so.