After initial failure, KS House sends Gov. Kelly bill to hold presidential primary in 2024
After initially rejecting the proposal the previous day, Kansas lawmakers voted Tuesday to allow Kansas’ political parties to hold a presidential primary next year rather than a caucus.
State senators had fast-tracked a plan to offer the two major parties a one-time chance to dump the traditional caucus system in 2024 in exchange for a higher-turnout primary. While President Joe Biden is expected to run for reelection on the Democratic side, Republicans anticipate a potentially large field that includes former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.
The bill’s passage came the came the same day as Trump’s arraignment in New York City over hush money allegedly paid during his 2016 campaign.
But concerns over the cost and the appearance of using public money to aid political parties appeared to doom the effort during a short debate on the House floor. The House rejected the measure, HB 2053, in a 56-64 vote after the Senate passed it 28-12.
However, the House reversed course the following day with a motion to reconsider. A remarkable 30 lawmakers from both parties changed their “no” votes to a “yes,” approving the measure 86 to 32. The bill now heads to Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly’s desk.
Rep. Fred Patton, a Topeka Republican who changed his “no” to a “yes,” said no one had spoken to him about the bill before he voted Monday.
“I didn’t understand the benefits or the downfalls and so generally I vote against something if no one has given me a reason to vote for it,” Patton said. “Since yesterday I’ve talked to people about the benefit it could be to the state and how we can hopefully increase voter turnout in the primaries.”
Election officials had estimated a state-run primary would cost up to $5 million if both parties chose to hold a primary.
Rep. Pat Proctor, a Fort Leavenworth Republican who chairs the House Elections Committee, acknowledged concerns about cost, but emphasized the ability of a primary to improve voter turnout.
“I think that the payoff is voter access,” Proctor said. “Neither party … is going to be able to bring the infrastructure that the state and the counties can bring to improving voter access.”
Rep. Trevor Jacobs, a Fort Scott Republican who voted no both days, called the legislation a “one-time spend just for junk.”
Kansas has held party-run caucuses for decades with only limited interruptions; the last state-run primary was in 1992.
Rep. Brandon Woodard, a Lenexa Democrat, said some Democrats had expressed concerns that the bill didn’t include a three-day grace period for the arrival of mail ballots following Election Day, like current law. Still, “primaries encourage more people to be involved – I wish this would go beyond just the 2024 election,” he said.
Some Republicans have voiced concern with the ability of the Kansas Republican Party’s new chairman, Mike Brown, to handle a caucus, which are complex logistical operations. For his part, Brown, a former Johnson County commissioner who promoted election conspiracies during his failed run for Kansas secretary of state, had signaled a preference for a primary in a newsletter to Kansas Republicans.
The bill authorizes a state-run presidential preference primary for both parties on Tuesday, March 19, 2024. The date comes after Super Tuesday on March 5, when numerous states will hold primaries and caucuses simultaneously. If the race remains competitive after Super Tuesday, Kansas would take on greater significance as campaigns fight for delegates.
The parties could opt out of a primary by providing notice by Dec. 1.
This story was originally published April 4, 2023 at 12:09 PM with the headline "After initial failure, KS House sends Gov. Kelly bill to hold presidential primary in 2024."
