The Kansas House has advanced a bill that would bar political candidates from removing themselves from the ballot after the filing deadline. Currently, candidates can declare they can’t serve in office and have their name taking off the ballot before an election.
Republican Rep. Mark Kahrs repeatedly referenced Democrat Chad Taylor dropping out of the U.S. Senate race last year.
“The reason we're here is because the voters in the primary, the Democratic voters, elected Chad Taylor. Then the people at the national and state level decided it was better to remove him from the ballot,” says Kahrs.
Democratic Rep. John Carmichael calls it a knee-jerk reaction to one situation. He imagines a scenario where a candidate suffers a stroke and is in a coma, but still must remain on the ballot.
“We hold a meaningless election to elect all-but-dead candidates to public office. That does not carry out the will of the electorate,” says Carmichael. A final vote on the bill is expected later Thursday.
