The man most involved in trying to secure Kansas elections gives the Legislature a grade of B this session – but it’s a tentative grade that could soon be lowered dramatically.

“Probaby a ‘B,’” House Elections Committee Chairman Pat Proctor tells The Heartlander when asked to give the session a letter grade.

“It might go down to a ‘C’ or a ‘D’ if we can’t override some vetoes.”

Though the Legislature adjourned Friday, it returns April 9-10 for what’s commonly known as a veto session, which gives lawmakers the opportunity to revive bills the governor has vetoed.

The Republican-controlled House and Senate passed an upgraded House Bill 2437 – renamed the “SAVE Kansas Act” – to clean up voter rolls.

In order to make certain that only qualified citizens are voting, the bill calls for twice-yearly crosschecks of voter registration information by the Secretary of State with other data bases such as driver’s license records and the federal Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database.

As The Heartlander has previously reported, the mayor of Coldwater, Kansas, who was charged with illegally voting as a noncitizen, has allegedly done so 29 times since 2000.

In addition, to protect people’s private information, HB 2437 provides that only government or government-approved websites would be able to register voters.

The House vote on the bill fell four short of the 84 necessary to override an expected veto by Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly, but Proctor is optimistic.

“I think we’ve got it if she vetoes,” Proctor told The Heartlander. “A very possible veto override.”

No-excuse ballots, no judge-shopping

House Bill 2569, which seeks to better protect the state against election-related lawsuits, also was passed and sent to the governor.

The bill says if a court strikes down signature verification of mail-in ballots, then no-excuse mail ballots will be eliminated. The bill also requires court challenges to election laws be heard in Topeka’s Shawnee County District Court – to prevent Democrats from judge-shopping in more liberal jurisdictions, Proctor said.

Meaningful voter ID

Then there’s House Bill 2587 (originally HB 2448), which would require one’s citizenship status be listed on new Kansas driver’s licenses going forward – so voter ID means more at the local voting precinct.

“This is my favorite bill of the year,” Proctor said. “It was the second-to-the-last bill passed in the regular session, so that one was like 25 hours of labor. But we got that passed. It’s headed to the governor.”

Once again, it passed without a veto-proof 84 yay votes in the House, meaning it will be a close call in the veto session.

But again, Proctor is optimistic.

“I think that when [lawmakers] go home and they talk to their constituents, I think they’re going to come back a little more eager about passing it.  

“Because to me, it’s just a slam dunk. I mean, all we’re doing is putting citizenship on new driver’s licenses that are issued. I don’t understand why we’re having a problem with that bill at all. I think that when legislators go home, I think they’re going to realize it’s something they want to run on.”

The one that got away

Some election bills Proctor wanted to see pass just didn’t make it.

A big one was House Bill 2503, which would end mail-ballot-only elections in Kansas.

“These cities and school boards,” Proctor explains, “they do these off-year, off-cycle elections and then they do them by mail-ballot only. So, there is no polling place. And even if you’re dead, even if you’ve moved, you’re still getting a ballot because you’re on the voter roll.

“So we’re sending out all these live ballots to people we know aren’t there anymore. And that bill would ban that practice.”

Proctor, who is running this year to succeed Secretary of State Scott Schwab as he campaigns for governor, says ending mail-only elections as the new secretary will “be on my legislative agenda for next year.”