By ALEXANDRA MIDDLEWOOD
Insight Kansas
For more than 160 years, mail-in voting has been a fixture of American democracy—especially in Kansas.
During the Civil War, Union soldiers stationed far from home were granted the right to vote by mail, a practice that laid the foundation for absentee voting as we know it. Kansas, in fact, was among the earliest adopters of mail-in voting for non-military, allowing railroad workers to vote absentee as early as 1901.
Today, however, that legacy is under pressure.
Starting in 2026, Kansas voters will face one of the shortest mail-in voting windows in the country. A new law, passed by the Republican-majority legislature, eliminated the three-day grace period that previously allowed ballots postmarked by Election Day to be counted if they arrived shortly after. Now, all mail ballots must be received by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be valid.
Supporters of the change argue it will increase confidence in election results by ensuring a uniform deadline. Critics, however, see it as a step backward—one that risks disenfranchising rural voters, seniors, and college students who rely on the mail to participate in elections.
The grace period, enacted in 2017, was a bipartisan response to slow postal delivery, especially in rural areas.
Data from the Kansas Secretary of State’s office shows that in the 2024 election, about 2,800 ballots arrived after Election Day. Of those, only about 75% of those were counted, with the remainder rejected due to missing postmarks or arriving beyond the grace period deadline.
The impact was even more pronounced in the 2024 primary, when approximately 1,000 Kansans (2% of voters) were effectively disenfranchised. Their ballots, mailed on time, failed to reach election offices by the cutoff and were discarded, despite voters having followed the rules. At first glance, 2% might seem insignificant, but it’s more than enough to sway an election. In fact, it is far larger than the margin of victory in the 2018 Republican gubernatorial primary and comes close to the margin in the 2022 general election for governor.
These numbers underscore the real-world consequences of tightening mail-in voting rules, especially for voters who do everything right but are let down by slow delivery.
Yet despite these setbacks, the push to restrict mail-in voting continues to gain traction nationally, often driven by voices that have repeatedly cast doubt on democratic institutions—frequently under the guise of protecting election integrity. President Trump recently vowed to “lead a movement” to end mail-in ballots ahead of the 2026 midterms, describing them as “corrupt” and alleging “massive fraud”—despite lack of evidence to support these claims. These remarks echo long-standing skepticism towards mail voting, even as courts, election officials, and independent experts continue to affirm security and reliability.
The push to restrict mail-in voting is not new, but its intensity has escalated, placing states like Kansas at the center of the national conversation about access, trust, and the future of democratic participation.
Kansans themselves appear to support keeping mail-in voting accessible. According to the 2024 Kansas Speaks survey conducted by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs at Fort Hays State University, a minority of respondents (23%) expressed support for ending mail-in voting options. Even fewer (11.6%) think voter fraud is a routine problem in Kansas.
The move to curtail mail-in voting in Kansas is not just a policy change—it’s a philosophical one. It signals a departure from a long-standing tradition of making voting easier for those who cannot be physically present at the polls. From Civil War soldiers to modern-day students and retirees, mail-in voting has served as a vital tool for civic participation.
As the 2026 midterms approach and calls to eliminate mail-in ballots echo from the nation’s capitol, Kansans—both voters and lawmakers alike—face a pivotal choice: whether to uphold a long-standing democratic tradition or allow it to be quietly dismantled.
The debate is not merely about deadlines and delivery speeds, it’s about the kind of democracy Kansans want to preserve. Will it be one that adapts to the needs of its citizens, or one that narrows the path to the ballot box?
In the end, the question isn’t whether mail-in voting is convenient. It’s whether it’s essential. History suggests it is.
Alexandra Middlewood, PhD, is an associate professor and chair of the Political Science Department at Wichita State University.