Summary — HB 2258 (election commissioners; transfer of duties to county clerk)
Status: Introduced January 30, 2025; referred to Committee on Elections. Fiscal note issued March 3, 2025.
Purpose
- To end the Secretary of State’s authority to appoint county election commissioners in Kansas and to transfer the jurisdiction, powers, duties, and records for conducting elections in counties that currently have an election commissioner to the county clerk for that county.
Key provisions
- Amends K.S.A. 19-3419 and repeals the current statutory section governing county election commissioners.
- Under current law, counties with population over 125,000 (per the July 1 certification) have an office of County Election Commissioner appointed by the Secretary of State for four‑year terms (with a specified search committee and removal authority).
- On and after July 1, 2025, the Secretary of State is prohibited from appointing any person to the office of county election commissioner, including appointments to fill unexpired terms.
- Upon any vacancy in the office of county election commissioner in a county (whether by expiration or other vacancy), all jurisdiction, powers and duties relating to the conduct, supervision and control of elections in that county — including registration, qualification, challenges, and voting — are transferred to the county clerk of that county.
- All files, books, records, papers, documents and data necessary for election administration under the election commissioner’s control must be transferred and delivered to the county clerk.
- When no person holds the office of county election commissioner anywhere in Kansas, the statute authorizing that office (article 34 of chapter 19) will have no force or effect.
- The bill specifies that transferred elections duties are to be performed by the county clerk in accordance with the cited statutes governing elections (K.S.A. 2024 Supp. 25-126, and related law).
- The bill includes a general repeal of the existing K.S.A. 19-3419 and an effective date provision (the bill text references July 1, 2025 for the nonappointment rule and provides the act takes effect upon publication).
Who is affected
- Counties that currently have a county election commissioner (statutorily counties with population exceeding 125,000): operational control of local election administration will move from a state‑appointed election commissioner to the county clerk upon each office vacancy.
- County clerks: will assume responsibility for conducting elections, custody of election records, and associated operational responsibilities in affected counties.
- Secretary of State’s office: will no longer appoint or replace election commissioners and will need to update public materials and procedures.
- County election staff, voters, and local governments: potential operational, staffing, records custody, and training impacts during the transition.
Fiscal and implementation considerations
- Division of the Budget fiscal note (Mar 3, 2025) indicates the Secretary of State expects to use existing resources to update public materials; no direct fiscal effect is reflected in the FY 2026 Governor’s Budget Report.
- The Kansas Association of Counties cautions enactment could produce fiscal impacts for counties during the transition (staffing, training, systems, records transfer), but it did not provide a cost estimate.
- Transition timing: incumbents would remain in office until a vacancy occurs; duties transfer on vacancy. The bill’s July 1, 2025 nonappointment trigger means no new appointments after that date; final statutory repeal occurs when no election commissioner position is filled.
Sponsor/co-sponsor
- Introduced on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Lawrence/Douglas County; introduced by Representative Ballard (per the bill text).
Legislative status (selected)
- Filed/Introduced: January 30, 2025.
- Referred to: Committee on Elections.
- Fiscal note: March 3, 2025 (Kansas Division of the Budget).
