Kansas Supreme Court Rejects Effort to Enforce Election Day Mail Ballot Deadline in 5-2 Vote – Late Ballots Will Be Counted Days After Election | 31 July 2026 | In a 5-2 decision Thursday, the Kansas Supreme Court declined to intervene and restore the state’s new strict mail-ballot deadline, leaving in place a lower court order that allows mailed ballots received up to three days after Election Day to be counted. The ruling is a major blow to election integrity efforts by Republican Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Attorney General Kris Kobach just days before the August 4 primary. Kansas lawmakers, exercising their constitutional authority, passed Senate Bill 4 in 2025. The measure eliminated the three-day “grace period” that had been in place since 2017 and required advance voting ballots to arrive by 7:00 p.m. on Election Day. Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill; the Republican-controlled Legislature overrode her. The change restored the traditional Election Day receipt deadline Kansas had used for roughly 150 years before the 2017 experiment.