In a 5-2 decision Thursday, the Kansas Supreme Court declined to intervene and restore the state’s new strict mail-ballot deadline, leaving in place a lower court order that allows mailed ballots received up to three days after Election Day to be counted.
The ruling is a major blow to election integrity efforts by Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach just days before the August 4 primary.
Kansas lawmakers, exercising their constitutional authority, passed Senate Bill 4 in 2025. The measure eliminated the three-day “grace period” that had been in place since 2017 and required advance voting ballots to arrive by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day.
Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill; the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode her. The change restored the traditional Election Day receipt deadline Kansas had used for roughly 150 years before the 2017 experiment.
Left-wing groups including Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, Loud Light, and the Disability Rights Center of Kansas immediately sued, claiming the straightforward deadline somehow violated the state constitution’s equal protection, due process, and voting rights provisions.
On July 16, after thousands of advance ballots had already been mailed with clear instructions that they must be received by Election Day, Douglas County District Judge Carl Folsom granted a temporary injunction, reinstating the three-day post-Election Day window.
Schwab appealed. The Court of Appeals refused to stay the injunction. Schwab then sought emergency transfer and review from the Kansas Supreme Court.
Hellbound and Down 