Volume 42 - Issue 3 - January 19, 2023

State of Kansas

Secretary of State

Notice of Hearing on Proposed Administrative Regulations

A public hearing will be conducted at 1:00 p.m., Monday, March 27, 2023, in the second-floor auditorium at Memorial Hall, 120 SW 10th Ave., Topeka, Kansas, regarding the adoption of three new election regulations: 7-21-5, 7-29-3, and 7-45-2.

K.A.R. 7-21-5, Electronic poll book signatures, is authorized by and implements K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 25-2912 which requires a handwritten signature on an electronic poll book. This regulation defines what denotes an acceptable signature, the acceptable methods to comply with the new law, and the requirements for disabled access.

K.A.R. 7-29-3, Ballot secrecy, is authorized by and implements K.S.A. 2022 Supp. 25-2912 which requires ensuring that it is not possible to “associate a voter with the record of the voter’s vote,” i.e. preserving ballot secrecy. The proposed regulation clarifies what records cannot be released to the public because the record can be used to determine how a particular voter voted.

K.A.R. 7-45-2, Oversight of authorized poll agents, is authorized by and implements K.S.A. 25-3005, and merely clarifies what is already the practice at polling places, that authorized poll agents are not to speak with voters in the polling place, except in limited circumstances. A poll agent’s role is to observe.

Adopting these regulations imposes no economic burdens on county election staff and imposes no environmental impact.

This 60-day notice of the public hearing shall constitute a public comment period for the purpose of receiving written public comments on the proposed regulations. Comments may be submitted prior to the hearing to Clay Barker, General Counsel, Office of the Secretary of State, Memorial Hall, 120 SW 10th Ave., Topeka, KS 66612-1594, or to clay.barker2@ks.gov. All interested parties will be given a reasonable opportunity at the hearing to present their views. Additionally, interested parties wanting to participate remotely may contact Clay Barker at clay.barker2@ks.gov to obtain remote access information. It may be necessary to request each participant to limit any oral presentation to five minutes.

Any individual with a disability may request accommodation to participate in the public hearing and may request the proposed regulations and economic impact statements in an accessible format. Requests for accommodation should be made at least five days in advance of the hearing by contacting Clay Barker at 785-296-3483 or the Kansas Relay Center at 1-800-766-3777.

Copies of the full text of the regulations and economic impact statements may be obtained at the address above for the Office of the Secretary of State, or by contacting Lara Murphy, Director of Administrative Regulations and Publications, at 785-296-0082 or lara.murphy@ks.gov. The proposed regulations are also available on the Secretary of State’s website at https://www.sos.ks.gov.

Scott Schwab
Secretary of State

Doc. No. 050825