Carpenter, 082620 KSAGO, AGO 2020-9

• Case Date: August 26, 2020
• Court: Kansas

The Honorable Blake Carpenter AGO 2020-9 No. 2020-9 Kansas Attorney General Opinion State of Kansas Office of the Attorney General August 26, 2020          The Honorable Blake Carpenter          State Representative, 81^st District          1300 E. Meadowlark Bvld., Apt. 2203          Derby, KS 67037          The Honorable Susan Humphries          State Representative, 99^th District          8 Sagebrush St.          Wichita, KS 67230          Re: Elections—Primary Elections—Official Primary Election Ballots; Minimum Number of Votes Required for Election or Nomination          Synopsis: The basis for determining the number of write-in votes required for a person’s name to appear on the general election ballot is the total of the current voter registration designated in the state, county or district in which the office is sought. Cited herein: K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 25-205; 25-213; 25-3301.          Dear House Majority Whip Carpenter and House Majority Caucus Chair Humphries:          As State Representatives for the 81st and 99th Districts, respectively, you request our opinion regarding the basis for determining the number of write-in votes required in the primary election for a person’s name to be printed on the general election ballot as a political party’s candidate for state, county or district office. You ask whether the basis is the number of registered members of a political party, as those are the only electors who may vote for candidates in a party’s primary election.1          K.S.A. 2019 Supp. 25-205 provides two methods through which a person’s name may be printed on the official primary ballot; the person may file nomination petitions signed by the requisite number of electors or the person may file a declaration of intention to become a candidate, accompanied by the appropriate fee.2 If no nomination petitions or declarations of intention are filed for a public office subject to election at the primary election, “the title to the office shall be printed on the ballot followed by a blank line with a...