In recent election years, Kansas presidential primaries have been few and far between. In fact, many people eligible to vote this year may had not even been born the last time the state ran a primary, in 1992.
The only other time before that there was a presidential primary in Kansas was in 1980.
This year, however, will be different.
In an effort to boost turnout and perhaps get a little more attention for a state that has long been in the shadows of New Hampshire and Super Tuesday (which is March 5 this year) the Kansas Legislature passed and Gov. Laura Kelly signed a bill allowing the state to run presidential preference primaries this year.
They will take place on Tuesday, March 19.
Here are a few things to know about it:
What exactly am I voting on?
Partisan primaries are held to choose which candidate will get the backing of each political party. The winner’s name is on the ballot as the party’s choice.
The Kansas primary will be a presidential preference primary.
Who you vote for translates into delegates to nominating conventions, per party rules. The series of conventions culminates in national conventions that determine who will get the parties’ backing for president.
In most other presidential election years, Kansas political parties have chosen their delegates to nominating conventions via caucuses – which are like neighborhood meetings – or primaries that the political parties run themselves.
The last presidential election year was like that, with Democrats paying for a mail-only primary vote. Republicans committed to former President Donald Trump without holding a caucus or a vote.
The March 19 primary is unique to this year. The Legislature did not address how delegate selection would be made going forward.
It also has no impact on the primaries for local, state and congressional offices. Those will take place as usual on August 6 this year.
Who’s on the ballot?
Names are shown here in the order they appear on sample ballots on the Johnson County Election office website.
For Republicans, candidates are: Donald Trump, Nikki Haley, Ron Desantis and Ryan L. Binkley
For Democrats, their choices are: Marianne Williamson, Jason Michael Palmer, Dean Phillips and Joseph R. Biden, Jr.
Each ballot also will have an oval for voters to select, “None of the names shown” if they want.
Do I have to be registered for a party to vote?
Yes, to vote in the March 19 primary, you have to be registered as a Democrat or Republican.
The deadline for registering or changing party affiliations has already passed.
However, unaffiliated voters can declare a party at the polling place on March 19.
Deadline confusion
There was some confusion about the deadline to register or to request a vote-by-mail ballot for the March 19 presidential preference primary.
Both of those deadlines already passed on February 20.
A mailer about the March 19 primary sent out by the Johnson County Election Office did not include information about those deadlines for a couple of reasons, said Election Commissioner Fred Sherman in an email to the Post.
“I was not confident that the mailer for this (presidential preference primary) election would be delivered by the USPS to Johnson County households prior to the Feb. 20th deadline date,” he wrote. “It would have been a much bigger issue to denote that deadline date on the info cards, only to then have the USPS deliver the info cards after that deadline date.”
Sherman said that the President’s Day holiday added to the problem.
The law setting up the primary made the deadline to register 30 days before Election Day. That fell on the President’s Day holiday on Monday, Feb. 19, which is not recognized by every Kansas county, he said, noting that Johnson County offices were open that day.
After the design for the mailer was set, the Kansas Secretary of State’s office declared that the deadline would be the next day, February 20.
Other deadlines
Those who did make the ballot request in time can now begin looking for their ballots in the mail. The election office sent about 6,000 advance ballots by February 28. Voters should receive them within five postal delivery days.
If the ballot doesn’t come by March 8, election officials recommend calling to inquire at (913) 715-6800.
In a recent press release, election officials also strongly advised voters to mail their ballots back no later than one week before March 19.
They must be received no later than 7 p.m. on that day, and for this election, there is no three-day grace period for late ballots.
You can check your voter registration and the status of your mail-in ballot here.
How to vote in the March 19 primary
Mail-in ballots can be returned by mail and can also be returned in-person to polling places or put in any of the county’s secure ballot drop boxes.
The drop boxes are open 24/7 and will close at 7 p.m. on Election Day. Their locations can be found on the election office website.
Advance in-person voting begins in Johnson County on Saturday, March 9 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. Find advance voting locations and hours here.
The last advance voting site closes at noon March 18.
On Election Day, March 19, there will be 139 polling sites open in Johnson County. Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Find your polling place here.
Other questions?
The Johnson County Election Office has more information.
