Kansas has introduced a slew of election laws over the past four years as Republicans grew increasingly distrustful of the electoral process after President Donald Trump's claims of mass voter fraud in 2020. In light of Kansas's amendments to election law, The Capital-Journal compiled the voting records of the House and Senate to see which method of voting is most popular among lawmakers. The data includes the primary and general elections between 2020 and 2024 from all 40 senators and 122 of 125 members of the House. We then compared and contrasted differences in voting preferences between Democrats and Republicans, between the House and the Senate, and with the general population in the state.
See Kansas lawmakers preferred methods of voting
The most common way for Kansas lawmakers to vote is in person at their polling place — but only barely. Of the recorded votes from the 162 members of the House and Senate in primary and general elections since 2020, 429 were cast in person at the polls. The majority of lawmakers, however, used some form of early voting. There were 423 votes cast at an early in-person voting location and 96 ballots cast from an advance mail ballot. The data doesn't say whether it was returned via a drop box or by mail. There are minor differences between the chambers. The House is slightly more in favor of in-person voting, while the Senate's most popular method of voting is early. House members were also more likely to use advanced voting — or not vote — over the past four years.
Partisan differences exist in how party members vote
Elected Republicans are more likely to vote in-person on Election Day than their Democratic counterparts. They're also more likely to vote early in-person. Between 2020 and 2024, Democrats were far more likely to use an advance ballot, but that is changing. In 2024, only three Democratic lawmakers requested an advance ballot in either the primary and general election.
How Kansas lawmakers' voting methods compare to general public
The biggest difference between how Kansas legislators vote and how Kansas citizens vote is turnout. Only 66.2% of Kansans voted in 2024 general election, but only one state lawmaker, Rep. Brad Barrett, R-Osage, didn't vote in that election. Only two state lawmakers, Sen. Mike Argabright, R-Olpe, and Rep. K.C. Ohaebosim, D-Wichita, didn't vote in the 2024 primary. The general public in 2024 cast 10% of its ballots by mail, 41% early in-person and 49% voted on Election Day at their polling place. Lawmakers over the past four years had about the same preference: 9.6% voted by mail, 42.6% voted early in person and 43.2% voted at the polls on Election Day. But lawmakers in the 2024 election shifted away from advance mail voting, with only five of 163 legislators getting an advance ballot by mail in the 2024 general election. That may be because lawmakers consume more political news and heeded Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab's warning to avoid voting by mail if possible. On Sept. 28, 2024 Schwab sent a letter to then-U.S. Postmaster General Louis DeJoy outlining concerns he had of counties received mail ballots without a postmark. On Oct. 10, 2024, Schwab said he had a productive conversation with DeJoy but still advised against voting by mail. "He reassured me that the (United States Postal Service) will implement new measures to prevent similar issues in the upcoming General Election and acknowledged past errors in processing primary ballots," Schwab said. "That is why we are encouraging voters who vote by mail to use a more secure way of returning your ballot to the county election office.
Data for how three lawmakers vote isn't available
The Cap-Journal cross-referenced lawmakers' names with birthdays listed Hawver's Capitol Report 2025 Legislative Guide to obtain voting data from Kansas Voter View, which shows party registration, voting district, and when and how someone voted. The records of Rep. Doug Blex, R-Independence; Rep. Susan Estes, R-Wichita; and Rep. Heather Meyer, D-Overland Park, weren't evident in
Kansas Voter View records. Meyer said her data was most likely unavailable because she took steps to obscure identifying information in public databases after being harassed by people opposed to her stances on reproductive rights and transgender issues. She said she usually votes early in-person but has used other methods. Blex and Estes didn't respond to an email seeking more clarity on their voting records.
Voting in Kansas is changing after recent legislative sessions
In this year's legislative session, Kansas lawmakers eliminated the three-day grace period for mailed ballots, which allowed ballots to be counted up to three days after Election Day if a postmark indicated the Post Office received it before 7 p.m. on Election Day. Kansas already had one of the country's shortest windows for voting by mail, with only Iowa and Colorado with a shorter window for mail voting.
Election reformer Pat Proctor votes early
Kansas Rep. Pat Proctor, R-Leavenworth, is the most outspoken member of the house on election reform. The secretary of state candidate has declared that "Election Day is Election Day," and has said in town halls that he wants to "chip away" at early voting, ballot boxes and the three-day grace period. When reached for comment on how he reconciles his feelings about early voting and his use of it, Proctor provided a statement that said he stands by his comments, and that "in a perfect world, we would all vote on Election Day." "But we don't live in a perfect world. We live in the real world. Some people, like first responders and poll workers, couldn't vote on Election Day even if it was a national holiday. Some folks just have become accustomed to the convenience of early or mail-in voting. Even I vote early, because I am pretty busy on Election Day getting people to the polls and getting out the vote," Proctor said. "So, early and mail-in voting aren't going anywhere." Proctor said the evidence that he's not in favor of reducing the timeframe for mail ballots or early voting is a 2024 bill that would have eliminated the three-day grace period, but added two more days of early voting and sent ballots two days earlier. That bill failed, and the elimination of the three-day grace period that passed this year didn't include expanded days for early voting. At a town hall posted on the video hosting website Rumble in June 2024,
Proctor described the strategy of chipping away at issues to achieve more expansive political victories over time. "We've got to think in one respect, and only one respect at all that we need to think the way the Democrats think, is tactically about how you address issues. They don't come out with a abortion up to the moment of conception, or they don't come out with a gay marriage bill. They chip away. They get a little bit closer, and they get a little bit closer until they've got what they want," Proctor said. At that same town hall, Proctor described plans to chip away at the grace period.
