SESSION OF 2023
SUPPLEMENTAL NOTE ON HOUSE BILL NO. 2053
As Amended by House Committee of the Whole
Brief*
HB 2053, as amended, would require the Office of the
Secretary of State, after consulting with county election
officers, to adopt rules and regulations for the use of remote
ballot boxes by county election officers for the return of
advance voting ballots by January 1, 2024. The bill would
require the rules and regulations to include:
●The dates, times, and locations for the use of
remote ballot boxes; and
●Any other requirements the Secretary of State
(Secretary) deems necessary to preserve the
integrity of the ballots, the remote ballot boxes, and
the election process.
The bill would define “remote ballot boxes” to mean any
form of locked ballot boxes designated by the county election
officer as available for the use of depositing advance voting
ballots. The definition would not include any ballot boxes
located in a county election office or satellite advance voting
site.
Background
The bill was introduced by the House Committee on
Elections at the request of Representative Waggoner.
____________________
*Supplemental notes are prepared by the Legislative Research
Department and do not express legislative intent. The supplemental
note and fiscal note for this bill may be accessed on the Internet at
http://www.kslegislature.org House Committee on Elections
In the House Committee hearing on the bill, proponent
testimony was provided by representatives of the Kansas
County Clerks and Election Officials Association, League of
Women Voters of Kansas, and Office of the Secretary of
State. The proponents stated the bill would permit the
Secretary of State to issue rules and regulations on the use of
remote ballot boxes, ensure all counties have standard
practices and security measures, and assure voters their
ballots are received by the election office.
Written-only proponent testimony was provided by a
representative of the Opportunity Solutions Project.
Opponent testimony was provided by representatives of
the Disability Rights Center of Kansas and Loud Light Civic
Action. The opponents stated the bill would have an unknown
impact that could restrict access and hours to ballot boxes,
making voting more difficult.
Written-only opponent testimony was provided by
representatives of the American Civil Liberties Union of
Kansas and the Health Forward Foundation.
Neutral testimony was provided by a representative of
the Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice.
House Committee of the Whole
The House Committee of the Whole amended the bill to
add a requirement that the Secretary consult with county
election officers before adopting rules and regulations and
such rules and regulations must include requirements the
Secretary deems necessary to preserve the integrity of
remote ballot boxes.
2- 2053 Fiscal Information
According to the fiscal note prepared by the Division of
the Budget on the bill as introduced, the Office of the
Secretary of State indicates it would use existing resources to
draft and adopt new rules and regulations, provide training
and update manuals for county election officials, and update
the agency’s website and public documents to ensure
knowledge of the new rules and regulations. Any fiscal effect
associated with the bill is not reflected in The FY 2024
Governor’s Budget Report.
Elections; Secretary of State; rules and regulations; county election officers; advance
voting ballots; remote ballot boxes
3- 2053