Kan. secretary of State demands ballot decision by Oct. 1

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) is asking a Kansas district court to decide the question of whether the state Democratic Party must choose a nominee for the ballot by next week.

{mosads}The state Supreme Court transferred the case, brought by a Kansas Democratic voter unhappy with candidate Chad Taylor’s exit from the race, to a lower court this week. The move was largely seen as a delay of the case beyond the deadline by which ballots would need to be printed, effectively a win for Democrats.

Without a Democrat on the ballot, Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) faces independent Greg Orman, who polling has shown leads the incumbent by a solid margin.

But Kobach filed a motion Wednesday asking the Shawnee County District Court to decide the question of whether the state party must name a replacement for Taylor by Oct. 1.

He’s previously indicated his office will print replacement ballots with the new candidate and send them out to any voters who have received ballots without a Democrat, which were sent out this past weekend.

A Kansas legal statute does appear to require the state parties to name replacements for any nominees who exit their races post-primary. But even if the district court does rule that the Democratic Party must choose a new nominee, KWCH is reporting there’s no clear penalty to be brought against the party if it defies the court’s order.