Ballot access requirements for political parties in Kansas
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as an exhaustive guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.
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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Kansas, see this article.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Kansas Statutes, Chapter 25, Article 3, Section 2a
A political organization seeking official recognition from the state as a political party must petition the Kansas Secretary of State for such status. Petitions must be signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 2 percent of the total votes cast for all candidates for governor at the last preceding general election.[1][2][3]
The petition must declare support for the official recognition of the political party named in the petition. A party seeking recognition cannot assume a name or designation that, in the opinion of the secretary of state, is "unreasonably lengthy or so similar to the name or designation of an existing political party as to confuse or mislead the voters at an election."[1][2]
Selecting candidates
Any party whose candidate for governor polled at least 5 percent of the total votes cast for the office at the most recent gubernatorial election is required to nominate its candidates by primary. Other officially recognized political parties must nominate their candidates for office by state convention.[2][4][5]
Procedural requirements
The statutes are largely silent as to the conduct of state conventions and other party business. Parties who nominate their candidates via convention are required by statute to submit a certified list of all nominees to the secretary of state by noon on June 1 of each election year (if June 1 falls on a weekend or holiday, this list is due on the next preceding business day).[2][5]
Maintaining party status
In order to maintain recognized status, a political party must field a candidate for statewide office who wins at least 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for such office at the general election. In 2010, for example, the statewide office for which the fewest number of votes were cast was for the commissioner of insurance. A total of 677,143 votes were cast for that office in 2010, meaning that a party's candidate for that office would have had to win at least 6,772 votes in order for the party to retain state recognition.[6]
Political parties
As of May 2024, there were four recognized political parties in Kansas. These are listed in the table below.[7]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Kansas | Link | Party by-laws |
| Libertarian Party of Kansas | Link | Party platform |
| No Labels Kansas | Link | |
| Republican Party of Kansas | Link | Party platform |
Historical events
2015
On February 10, 2015, Representative Steven Johnson introduced HB 2274 in the Kansas House of Representatives. If enacted, the legislation would have lowered the petition signature requirements for newly-qualifying political parties from 2 percent to 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in the most recent general election. In addition. the bill would have extended the qualifying period from six months to one year. The bill ultimately died in committee.[8][9]
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Kansas
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Kansas
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of Kansas
- Republican Party of Kansas
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kansas Statutes, "Chapter 25, Article 3, Section 2a," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Kansas Election Standards, "Chapter IV. - Candidates," revised April 1, 2012
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "2010 General Election - Official Vote Totals," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Chapter 25, Article 2, Section 2," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Kansas Statutes, "Chapter 25, Article 3, Section 2," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Statutes, "Chapter 25, Article 3, Section 2b," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Kansas Voter Registration Instructions," accessed May 16, 2024
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Kansas Ballot Access Bill Introduced," February 20, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Legislature, "HB 2274," accessed February 23, 2015
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