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Election deadlines approaching
new deh election deadline pic web
There are deadlines nearing for voters and those wanting to run for office this fall.

 Local and state election officials are reminding eligible voters and candidates for public office across the state that the deadline to switch party affiliation is noon June 1. It is also the deadline to officially file a candidacy for public office.

Those voters who are registered with a political party must change their party affiliation prior to this deadline if they wish to participate in a different party’s primary, information from the Barton County Clerk’s Office notes. Unaffiliated voters however, may register with a political party on the day of the primary election and be able to participate in that party’s primary election.

Voters will not be able to officially switch from one party affiliation to another from the June 1st deadline until the State Board of Canvassers certifies the Primary results.

Candidates for public office share this noon deadline on June 1, 2016, and are encouraged to file their candidacy prior to the morning of June 1. As of May 24, candidate filings for the Kansas Legislature are below the number of total candidate filings in other presidential election years. With only a few days until the deadline, the Secretary of State’s Office expects more candidates to register.

During the 2012 presidential election cycle, 293 candidates filed to run for seats in the Kansas House of Representatives. There were 229 and 236 candidates that filed the Kansas House of Representatives in 2008 and 2004 respectively. Total Kansas Senate candidate filings are also currently below previous presidential election years. The Secretary of State’s Office has had 72 total candidates file for Kansas Senate seats compared to 106 in 2012, 93 in 2008, and 112 in 2004.

“I encourage candidates who have not yet filed their paperwork to submit the paperwork as quickly as possible prior to the deadline,” said Bryan Caskey, state elections director for the Kansas Secretary of State. “I also encourage all Kansans to consider running for public office. The strength of our form of government is in the participation of its citizens.”