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HB 2016

Evidence; artificial intelligence expert testimony; effective date.

2025 Regular Session Introduced by Daniel Pae

Modernizes death-record removal using online funeral-home obituaries, tightens poll worker eligibility for citizenship/residency, and clarifies advance voting verification procedur

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Bill Summary · HB 2016

Kansas HB 2016 — Summary (2025)

Status: Approved by Governor (signed Monday, April 7, 2025).
Introduced: January 22, 2025.
Effective date: upon publication in the Kansas Register (as amended).
Statutory changes: amends K.S.A. 25-2316c (voter removal), K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 25-1122 (advance voting), and K.S.A. 25-2804 (poll worker qualifications); repeals prior version of 25-2316c.

Purpose / Intent

To (1) modernize how county election officers confirm and remove deceased voters from registration rolls by recognizing certain online funeral-home obituaries as sufficient evidence of death; (2) set/clarify poll worker eligibility requirements (including U.S. citizenship and state residency) while protecting active military members and their spouses/dependents from disqualification based on residency or voter-registration status; and (3) modify procedures and verification requirements related to advance (mail) voting ballot applications.

Key Provisions

  • Removal of deceased voters

    • County election officers must remove a registrant’s name from registration books and party affiliation lists when an obituary reporting the registrant’s death is published online by a funeral home located in the county.
    • This is in addition to existing triggers (obituary in a local newspaper, lists/certificates from the Secretary of Health and Environment, Social Security Administration, court orders, or written requests).
    • Use of lists of deceased residents is limited to the purposes described in the statute.

  • Poll worker qualifications

    • The bill amends poll worker qualifications to require U.S. citizenship and Kansas residency (as reflected in amendments to K.S.A. 25-2804).
    • The bill expressly prohibits county election officers from disqualifying an individual from serving as a poll worker on the basis of residency or registered-voter status if the individual is a U.S. citizen who is an active military member or the spouse/other dependent of an active military member.
    • Age-based qualifications remain subject to existing law.

  • Advance voting ballot applications (K.S.A. 25-1122)

    • Reinforces verification procedures before providing a mail-transmitted advance voting ballot: signature and ID verification (Kansas driver’s license, nondriver ID, or copy of other acceptable ID).
    • If a signature does not match, counties must attempt to contact the applicant and offer an opportunity to provide a verifying signature; absent contact, a provisional ballot may be transmitted but will not be counted unless a verifiable signature is later provided.
    • Adds a provision permitting state and local offices to allow free photocopying of identification for persons seeking to vote by advance ballot.
    • Clarifies timing windows for filing advance ballot applications (primary, general, presidential preference primary, question-submitted and special elections) and allows counties to accept and hold applications filed earlier than those windows.

Who is affected

  • County election officers / county election offices: procedural changes for processing obituary information and verifying advance ballot applicants; potential increased workload to validate private (funeral-home) online obituaries.
  • Registered voters and prospective poll workers: changes to qualification and verification steps for advance voting and poll worker eligibility (notably protections for active military and their families).
  • Secretary of State: minimal administrative changes (training and public materials updates).

Fiscal and stakeholder notes

  • Secretary of State: indicates existing resources will be used to update training and public materials.
  • Kansas Association of Counties: notes additional workload and potential fiscal impacts from investigating the legitimacy of private online obituary notices.
  • Testimony: proponents included the Secretary of State’s office and county clerks; written opposition from ACLU of Kansas was recorded.

Procedural / Timeline

  • Introduced by House Committee on Elections at request of Rep. Waggoner (Jan 2025).
  • Amended in the Senate Committee to make effective date contingent on publication in the Kansas Register.
  • Enrolled and approved by the Governor on April 7, 2025; law takes effect upon publication in the Kansas Register.

Compiled from official sources — confirm details with the bill’s official record.

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