Kansas Lawmakers Override Veto on Mail-in Ballot Bill

Kansas lawmakers have successfully overridden Governor Laura Kelly's veto of a bill that eliminates the three-day grace period for late-arriving mail ballots, a measure initially adopted in 2017 to accommodate postal delays. Beginning in 2026, all mail-in ballots in Kansas must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted. Governor Kelly, a Democrat, criticized the bill as disenfranchising rural voters and causing confusion among election officials, while Republicans argued it would enhance election security and voter confidence. The Senate passed the override with a 30-10 vote, and the House followed with an 84-41 vote, barely meeting the two-thirds supermajority needed to overturn the veto. Voting rights advocates have expressed concerns that this change could disenfranchise voters reliant on the postal service. This marks the third attempt by the Kansas Legislature to repeal the grace period, with previous efforts failing to secure enough support.