Laura Kelly requests $18M in federal aid for Kansas due to severe weather damage
14 September 2023
TOPEKA (KSNT) – State election officials say Donald J. Trump is the first name to appear on the candidate list for the upcoming 2024 Presidential Preference Primary.
The Kansas Secretary of State (SOS) announced via social media on Wednesday, Sept. 13 that Trump’s name is the first to officially appear as a candidate in a rarely used election practice for next year. Trump’s name stands alone on the list as a Republican candidate for office.
Trump is currently facing legal action in several different cases. Indictments at the federal level and at the state level in Georgia have been filed against Trump for alleged interference in the 2020 Presidential Election.
Kansas lawmakers approved a new, state-funded Presidential Primary for 2024 during the 2023 Legislative session. The bill received bipartisan support from lawmakers and received praise from Secretary of State Scott Schwab after it was signed into law by Governor Laura Kelly.
“Enactment of the presidential preference primary bill signifies the trust party leaders have in the integrity of Kansas elections,” Schwab said in a press release on April 21, 2023. “We are asking the legislature to fully fund this measure. Our county election offices will be ready to conduct a fair and secure election.”
Presidential Preference Primaries have only been used in Kansas twice in the past during the elections of 1980 and 1992, according to the SOS’s website. A Presidential Preference Primary requires an act by the Kansas Legislature to be conducted. The enactment takes responsibility away for conducting a caucus from the Republican and Democrat parties in Kansas, instead giving it to the state. It is called a preference primary as it is an election where the vote totals are given to a political party to allocate delegates to candidates at the national convention. Voters will not select the party candidate in this primary.
The Presidential Preference Primary will be held on March 19, 2024, according to the SOS. All presidential candidates must file their candidacy with the SOS 60 days before the election and must, upon submitting their application, pay a $10,000 filing fee or present a petition with 5,000 signatures of registered Kansas voters. This will be a one-time presidential primary unless the Kansas Legislature approves it in the future. Deadlines and important dates for the Presidential Preference Primary in Kansas are as follows:
Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2023 – Deadline for parties to opt out of participating in the Presidential Preference Primary.
Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2024 – Deadline for parties to submit the party rules for delegate allocation to the SOS.
Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024 – Deadline for parties to notify the SOS who is eligible to vote in each party’s Presidential Preference Primary.
Tuesday, Feb. 20, 2024 – Deadline to register to vote or update voter registration information to participate in the Presidential Preference Primary. Last day to apply for an advance voting by mail ballot.
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024 – First day of advance voting. Advance ballots by mail are sent. In-person advance voting can start. Check with your local county election officer for specific times and locations.
Monday, March 18, 2024 – In-person advance voting ends at noon.
Tuesday, March 19, 2024 – Presidential Preference Primary Election. All advance ballots by mail must be received by close of polls.
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