Sunflower State News

In a 85-38 vote in the state House of Representatives and a 28-12 vote in the State Senate, members of the Kansas state Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly's veto of House Bill 2183. 

HB 2183 creates several new safeguards for elections. It requires signature matching for mail-in ballots and bans the secretary of state from extending main-in deadlines. The law also makes it a crime to backdate a mail-in ballot, as well as prohibits election officials from accepting money from any entity apart from the state of Kansas itself.

"Every single vote matters and the accuracy matters," Sen. Caryn Tyson (R-Parker) told The Kansas City Star. "This bill is not about voter suppression it is about voter accuracy and making sure every legal vote counts."

Opponents of the bill believe the law addresses a problem that doesn't exist and would make it harder for people to vote.

"They will undoubtedly lead to years of costly taxpayer funded litigation and they are bad for business," Sen. Ethan Corson (D-Johnson County) said, as reported by The Kansas City Star. 

In October 2020, Amber McReynolds of the National Vote at Home Institute told the New York Times that signature matching, done right "is the best way to strike a balance between security, transparency and accessibility for voters."

According to a report from Empower Wisconsin, The Center for Technology and Civic Life received $350 million from Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg before the 2020 election, and gave $8 million for election “safety and security” to Wisconsin’s five largest cities, all of which are governed by Democrats. The donations were contingent on each city holding elections according to the CTCL’s specifications, the organization states.

Texas is set to join several states, including Arizona and Georgia, that have issued bans on outside money in elections following Zuckerburg's massive donations in the 2020 elections, the Lone Star Standard reported. 

House Bill 2183 is on track to become law this July.