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Ballot access requirements for political parties in Kansas
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Note: This article is not intended to serve as a guide to running for public office. Individuals should contact their state election agencies for further information.
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Although there are hundreds of political parties in the United States, only certain parties qualify to have the names of their candidates for office printed on election ballots. In order to qualify for ballot placement, a party must meet certain requirements that vary from state to state. For example, in some states, a party may have to file a petition in order to qualify for ballot placement. In other states, a party must organize around a candidate for a specific office; that candidate must, in turn, win a percentage of the vote in order for the party to be granted ballot status. In still other states, an aspiring political party must register a certain number of voters.
To learn more about ballot access requirements for political candidates in Kansas, click here.
Process for a political party to obtain ballot status
See statutes: Kansas Statutes Section 25-302a
A political organization seeking official recognition from the state as a political party must petition the Kansas Secretary of State for such status. Petitions must be signed by qualified electors equal in number to at least 2% of the total votes cast for all candidates for governor at the last preceding general election and must be filed by noon on June 1 before the primary.[1]
The petition must declare support for the official recognition of the political party named in the petition. A party seeking recognition cannot assume a name or designation that, in the opinion of the secretary of state, is "unreasonably lengthy or so similar to the name or designation of an existing political party as to confuse or mislead the voters at an election."[1]
Ballot access
Any party whose candidate for governor received at least 5% of the vote in the most recent gubernatorial election is required to nominate its candidates by primary. Other officially recognized political parties must nominate their candidates for office by state convention.[2]
Parties that nominate their candidates via state convention are required by statute to submit a certified list of all nominees to the secretary of state by noon on June 1 of each election year (or the next business day, if June 1 falls on a weekend or holiday). These nominees are then placed on the general election ballot.[2]
Maintaining party status
In order to maintain recognized status, a political party must field a candidate for statewide office who wins at least 1% of the total number of votes cast for that office at the general election.[3]
Political parties
As of September 2024, there were five recognized political parties in Kansas. These are listed in the table below.[4][5]
| Party | Website link | By-laws/platform link |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party of Kansas | Link | Party by-laws |
| Libertarian Party of Kansas | Link | Party platform |
| No Labels Kansas | Link | |
| Republican Party of Kansas | Link | Party platform |
| United Kansas | Link | Party platform |
Historical events
2015
On February 10, 2015, Representative Steven Johnson introduced HB 2274 in the Kansas House of Representatives. If enacted, the legislation would have lowered the petition signature requirements for newly-qualifying political parties from 2 percent to 1 percent of the total number of votes cast for all candidates for governor in the most recent general election. In addition. the bill would have extended the qualifying period from six months to one year. The bill ultimately died in committee.[6][7]
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See also
- Ballot access requirements for political candidates in Kansas
- Ballot access requirements for presidential candidates in Kansas
- List of political parties in the United States
- Democratic Party of Kansas
- Republican Party of Kansas
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "Section 25-302a," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Kansas Secretary of State, "Kansas Elections Standards Chapter IV. Candidates," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes, "25-302b," accessed July 7, 2025
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "Kansas Voter Registration Instructions," accessed May 16, 2024
- ↑ Kansas Secretary of State, "United Kansas Officially Recognized as a Political Party," May 24, 2024
- ↑ Ballot Access News, "Kansas Ballot Access Bill Introduced," February 20, 2015
- ↑ Kansas Legislature, "HB 2274," accessed February 23, 2015
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