Election Day · Tuesday, November 3, 2026
How to vote in Kansas
The deadlines, early voting, mail ballots and ID rules for Kansas, and what happens after the polls close. Every fact links to the Kansas Secretary of State or the law it comes from. Rules change, and courts sometimes change them close to an election, so confirm anything you are relying on with the state.
Checked against official sources on October 7.
Key dates
- Register online by
Tuesday, October 13
Online through the Kansas Department of Revenue (kdor.ks.gov/Apps/VoterReg).
- Register by mail by
Tuesday, October 13
The Secretary of State's Elections 101 guide says mailed applications postmarked by the deadline are accepted.
- Register in person by
Tuesday, October 13
- Same-day registration
No
Registration closes October 13.
- Early voting
Wednesday, October 14 to Monday, November 2
Counties may begin October 14 (20 days before); every county must have begun by October 27.
- How early voting works
Start dates, hours and satellite sites vary by county; every county must offer in-person advance voting by October 27. Photo ID is required.
- Request a mail ballot by
Tuesday, October 27
Computed: applications for a mailed ballot must be filed by the Tuesday of the week before the general election (K.S.A. 25-1122(f)(1)(B)).
- Return your mail ballot by
Tuesday, November 3
Statute says received by close of polls on Election Day, but a Douglas County district court injunction, left in place by the Kansas Court of Appeals for the general election, requires counting ballots postmarked by Election Day that arrive by the last postal delivery on Friday, November 6. Ballots may also be dropped at any polling place or drop box in the county until polls close.
- Election Day polling hours
7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Default 7 p.m. Central / 6 p.m. Mountain; counties may stay open until as late as 8 p.m. Central / 7 p.m. Mountain.
Voting by mail
- Who can vote by mail
Any voter can vote by mail
Any registered voter may apply. The application must include a Kansas driver's license or nondriver ID number, or a copy of a photo ID. Voters with a permanent illness or disability may get permanent advance voting status.
- Drop boxes
Yes
Drop boxes lock at the close of polls on Election Day.
- Ballots arriving after Election Day
Counted if postmarked by Election Day and received by Friday, November 6
Under a court injunction (not the statute), ballots postmarked by Election Day count if they arrive by the last postal delivery on Friday, November 6. The 2025 law ending the grace period is not being applied to this election while the injunction stands.
ID at the polls
- The rule
Photo ID required
A voter without photo ID votes a provisional ballot that counts only if ID is shown to the county election officer before the county canvass. Exemptions: permanent advance voters, military and overseas voters, and signed religious objection.
- What to bring
Bring a photo ID: a driver's license or ID card from Kansas or another state, U.S. passport, military ID, Kansas college student ID, government employee ID, and other listed IDs. It must not be expired if it has an expiration date (voters 65+ may use an expired ID). Free nondriver IDs are available.
When will we know results in Kansas?
How fast results come in depends mostly on when the polls close and when election officials are allowed to start on mail ballots. Totals shown on election night are unofficial until the state certifies them.
- Last polls close
8 p.m. local time (the state spans Central and Mountain time) — 9 p.m. Eastern
Latest a county may close: 8 p.m. Central (or 7 p.m. Mountain, the same moment). Most counties close at the 7 p.m. Central / 6 p.m. Mountain default.
- Mail ballots can be processed from
Special election boards may conduct the original canvass of advance ballots when they convene, before Election Day, but may not complete final tabulation before Election Day (K.S.A. 25-1134). The earliest date was not confirmed.
- Mail ballots can be counted from
Tuesday, November 3
Final tabulation of advance ballots happens on Election Day.
- Counties finish their count by
Monday, November 9
County canvass is the Monday after the election, or any business day up to 13 days after (by November 16), at the county's choice (K.S.A. 25-3104).
- State certifies results
Tuesday, December 1
Last day for the State Board of Canvassers to certify.
- Automatic recount
None
No automatic recount.
- Requested recount
Any candidate may request a recount, with no margin threshold, and must post a bond to cover costs; no action is taken on the bond if the recount changes the winner.
K.S.A. 25-3107.
- Runoff
No general election runoff.
- Ranked-choice voting
Not used
- Votes needed to pass a ballot measure
A simple majority
Simple majority. Kan. Const. art. 14, § 1: if a majority of the electors voting on an amendment vote for it, it becomes part of the constitution.
- New governor takes office
Monday, January 11, 2027
Kan. Const. art. 1, § 1: terms begin on the second Monday of January next after the election; the second Monday of January 2027 is January 11.
What’s on your ballot
Every contest you will vote on, from Congress to school board, with each candidate’s positions and record and the arguments for and against them.
Confirm this with the official source
Your ballot is determined by your election authority, not by us. Verify your registration, precinct, and sample ballot at Kansas Secretary of State.