Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

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

                                                   February 15, 2021

          The Honorable Blake Carpenter, Chairperson
          House Committee on Elections
          Statehouse, Room 149C-S
          Topeka, Kansas 66612
          Dear Representative Carpenter:
                    SUBJECT:      Fiscal Note for HB 2319 by Representative Esau
                  In accordance with KSA 75-3715a, the following fiscal note concerning HB 2319 is
          respectfully submitted to your committee.
                  Current law sets the deadline for receipt by mail of advance voting ballots by the office of
          a county election officer as the last delivery of mail by the United States Postal Service on the third
          day following the date of the election unless additional time is permitted by the Secretary of State.
          HB 2319 would change this deadline to 5:00 p.m. on the day after the election and prohibit any
          elected or appointed official or court from changing the deadline.
                 According to the Secretary of State, enactment of HB 2319 would require the agency to
          update training and education materials provided to county election officers and the voting public.
          These updates could be accomplished with existing resources. The agency indicates that the bill
          could have a minor fiscal effect on county election office budgets by reducing the hours that
          advance voting counting boards would need to be paid for working; however, the Secretary is
          unable to estimate what the potential savings might be.
                  The Kansas Association of Counties indicates that enactment of the bill could cause some
          additional expense since advance ballots to the military might need to be sent earlier to ensure that
          they could be returned in time to avoid disenfranchising those voters. There could be other timing
          issues caused by moving this deadline; however, the Association is unable to determine what the
          fiscal effect might be.

                                                                 Sincerely,

                                                                 Adam Proffitt
                                                                 Director of the Budget
          cc: Jay Hall, Association of Counties
              Sandy Tompkins, Office of the Secretary of State
Statutes affected: 
As introduced: 25-1132