Kansas House Bill HB2494

Kansas 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 1/21/26
• Refer: 1/21/26

Caption

Allowing a nonpartisan candidate to include such candidate's political party affiliation on the ballot with such candidate's name.

Summary

HB 2494 would amend Kansas election law governing how candidate names appear on ballots. Under current law, party affiliation is printed for candidates for national, state, county, and township offices, while candidates for other offices generally are not given that designation. The bill creates a new option for candidates for offices other than national, state, county, or township offices to choose to have their political party or political affiliation printed next to their names on the ballot. The bill also states that any city, county, township, school district, or other political subdivision rule that conflicts with this new statewide option would be null and void, including rules adopted before July 1, 2026. In effect, the measure would standardize ballot labeling for certain local or nonpartisan races and override local restrictions that would prevent a candidate from displaying party affiliation.

Impact

HB 2494 would amend K.S.A. 25-613, the statute governing ballot formatting and candidate name placement, by adding a new subsection allowing party affiliation to appear for candidates in offices outside the categories already covered by law. It would also preempt conflicting local ordinances, resolutions, or regulations, limiting the ability of local governments and other political subdivisions to control whether party labels may appear on ballots for those offices. The bill would take effect upon publication in the Kansas Register.

Sentiment

No committee transcript or recorded vote information is available with the bill materials, so there is no direct evidence of support or opposition from hearings or floor action. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a ballot-transparency and candidate-choice proposal, which may appeal to supporters of clearer voter information and may draw concern from those who prefer nonpartisan local elections.

Contention

The main point of contention is likely whether party affiliation should be displayed in races that are currently treated as nonpartisan or outside the offices expressly listed in existing law. Supporters may argue that voters benefit from knowing a candidate’s party identification, while opponents may argue that adding party labels undermines the nonpartisan character of certain offices. A second likely issue is state preemption: the bill would invalidate conflicting local rules, which could be controversial for cities, counties, school districts, and other political subdivisions that have adopted their own ballot practices.