Kansas Democrats move May 2 presidential primary to mail-only amid COVID-19 concerns

Kansas Democrats won’t have the option of voting in-person during the party’s May 2 presidential primary because of the novel coronavirus.

The Kansas Democratic Party announced Monday it was moving to a mail-only primary as Democrats choose between former Vice President Joe Biden and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

In making the decision, the party said that more than 10 percent of its polling locations had already canceled their contract with the party over safety concerns.

“Removing our in-person voting locations for the 2020 Primary was an extremely difficult decision to make but the unprecedented gravity of COVID-19 has required significant changes to our operations to ensure the safety of all Kansans during this electoral process,” state party chair Vicki Hiatt said in a statement.

The party was already planning to send mail ballots to every registered Democrat. The party was set to begin sending out ballots on Monday.

The party said voters should mail back their ballots so that they will be received by May 2.

This story was originally published March 30, 2020 at 7:23 PM.