Division of the Budget
Landon State Office Building Phone: (785) 296-2436
900 SW Jackson Street, Room 504 adam.c.proffitt@ks.gov
Topeka, KS 66612 Division of the Budget http://budget.kansas.gov
Adam Proffitt, Director Laura Kelly, Governor


April 19, 2023


The Honorable Mike Thompson, Chairperson
Senate Committee on Federal and State Affairs
300 SW 10th Avenue, Room 144-S
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Dear Senator Thompson:
SUBJECT: Fiscal Note for SB 197 by Senators Pittman, Corson, and Holscher
In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning SB 197 is
respectfully submitted to your committee.
Current law allows citizens to register to vote during the 20 days prior to an election. SB
197 would amend current law to allow voter registration on any day that the main offices of the
county government are open including on an election day. County election officers would be
required to allow a person who is not a registered voter and appears at the county election office
to apply for an advance voting ballot to register and vote immediately by a regular, rather than
provisional, ballot. The bill would establish the requirements for a qualified person who appears
on either election day at the polling place in which the person resides or at a satellite advance
voting site during the advance voting period to register and vote a provisional ballot. The bill
would also require that the provisional ballot be counted unless the county board of canvassers
determines that it was improperly cast or that the person has otherwise voted in the election. The
bill would also establish the procedure for a person to immediately register to vote in an election
and specifies how that person could provide proof of citizenship as required by statute and under
what circumstances that person’s registration and provisional ballot could be rejected. The bill
would also make technical corrections to existing statutes.
The Secretary of State indicates, under SB 197, the agency would use existing resources to
provide training and update manuals for county election officials; update the agency’s website;
update public documents and information; and work with media, political parties, candidates, and
the public to ensure knowledge of the change in registration requirement. In addition, the Secretary
of State indicates county election offices’ costs could increase from several hundred dollars to
several thousand dollars per election per county. Cost affected would include training of staff and
election workers, hiring of additional board workers to process more provisional voters, acquire
The Honorable Mike Thompson, Chairperson
Page 2—SB 197

electronic poll books for counties that do not currently have electronic poll books, increase supplies
including ballots and provisional ballot envelopes. Any fiscal effect associated with SB 197 is not
reflected in The FY 2024 Governor’s Budget Report.
The Kansas Association of Counties indicates SB 197 could increase election costs for the
counties; however, the Association is unable to calculate the fiscal effect.


Sincerely,

Adam Proffitt
Director of the Budget

cc: Sandy Tompkins, Office of the Secretary of State
Jay Hall, Kansas Association of Counties


Statutes affected:
As introduced: 25-2311, 25-2316c, 25-3602