News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE TO ALL MEDIA
Tuesday, March 8, 2022
Contact: John T. Bird, City Attorney/City of Hays, Kansas
785-625-6919
City of Hays announces compliance with United States District Court Order regarding advance voting.
The City of Hays will comply with a recent Court Order regarding advance voting. In September, 2021, the City of Hays, Kansas adopted the 37th Edition of the Uniform Public Offense Code. The UPOC is prepared by the Kansas League of Municipalities as a service to Kansas cities, incorporating updates to State laws creating categories of crimes. In November, after adoption of the latest Edition of the UPOC by Hays, the United States District Court for Kansas granted a preliminary injunction in a case styled as VoteAmerica v. Schwab. The injunction prohibits enforcement of certain provisions of the UPOC pertaining to advance mail ballot applications that are personalized with a voter’s information. The State and all of its political subdivisions are enjoined now from enforcing those provisions.
As a result, the City of Hays, Kansas, including the City Attorney’s office and the Police Department, announce that Sec. 7.5 2 (1). Distribution of Unattributed Applications for Advance Voting Ballots of the Uniform Public Offense Code, providing that “No portion of an advance voting application shall be completed prior to mailing such application to the registered voter” will not be enforced until further order of the Court in VoteAmerica v. Schwab.
If the Court permanently enjoins enforcement, the City of Hays will amend the UPOC to delete the section that has been found preliminarily to be unconstitutional. Concerned citizens should contact the Ellis County Clerk for more details.