Primary elections are held to reduce the field of candidates for the general election.

Primary elections in odd-numbered years in Johnson County are nonpartisan. Every registered voter in a district will receive the same list of candidates. 

State law prohibits party affiliation of candidates from being printed on the ballot next to a candidate’s name for nonpartisan elections.

Unlike even-year primary elections, odd-year primaries for nonpartisan candidates only take place when the number of candidates for a contest passes the required level to trigger a primary. 

The standard statutory level for a primary is equal to three times the positions up for election, plus one.  Cities may charter-out of these statutory requirements, and establish their own requirements for primary elections.

For example: a contest race with only one position open will likely only have a primary if four (4) or more candidates file for office. An at-large contest race with three (3) positions open would require 10 candidates before a primary would be held.

A nonpartisan election for the Johnson County Board of County Commissioner contest races will take place in an even-year August primary election, when more than two (2) candidates filed for a position.

[KSA 25-2006(b), KSA 25-2108a(a), KSA 71-1415]  

Partisan Primary Elections are held on the first Tuesday in August in even-numbered years for the two major political parties in Kansas. [KSA 25-202, KSA 25-203]

The Democratic August Primary Election is typically open only to those voters registered with the Democratic party and unaffiliated voters who wish to affiliate with the Democratic party by filling out a new declaration card when voting.

The Republican August Primary Election is open only to those registered as Republicans, and unaffiliated voters who wish to affiliate with the Republican party by filling out a new declaration card when voting.

Unaffiliated voters who do not wish to declare a party affiliation, and voters registered with a minor political party in Kansas, like the Libertarian party, are eligible to vote on nonpartisan contest races and submitted questions listed on a primary ballot, if any.

All relevant nonpartisan items and questions also appear on the Democratic and Republican primary ballots.

Primary voting rules are established by the parties and state law, and are not established by the Election Office.  Voters may cast only one ballot in any election.

The Election Office does not distribute campaign/candidate information. A voter may contact the political party headquarters for candidate position information.

Candidates for precinct committeeman and committeewoman for the Democratic and Republican parties are elected at the national/state primary election in August of even-numbered years.

A presidential preference primary takes an act by the Kansas Legislature to be conducted. The enactment takes the responsibility from the state's two major political parties (Republican and Democratic) in Kansas from conducting a caucus, and instead, having the state of Kansas conduct a primary election.

It is a “preference” primary because it is an election where the vote totals are given to a political party to allocate delegates to candidates at the national convention. This is not a primary where the voters selected the party candidate.

In 2023, the Kansas Legislature authorized the state-run Presidential Preference Primary, which had only been used twice prior in Kansas in 1980 and 1992. The 2024 presidential preference primary election was nontraditional -- the timelines and statutes governing this election vary from a normal primary or general elections.

The presidential preferential primary law for Kansas was passed in 1978.

Kansas had one preference primary in 1980 where in Johnson County, 47,620 voters participated (37% turnout). Subsequent presidential preferential primary elections were not funded by the state legislature.

In 1992 the state legislature acted to fund the second preference primary election held in Kansas. About 373,000 voters state-wide participated. In Johnson County - 55,659 voters participated in the April 7, 1992 election (33.2% turnout).

In 2023, the Kansas Legislature authorized a state-run Presidential Preference Primary for the 2024 election cycle. Election day was on Tuesday March 19, 2024.  About 138,500 voters state-wide participated. In Johnson County, 28,706 voters participated (6.34% turnout).

General Elections take place on the first Tuesday following the first Monday in November each year. This is the election in which candidates are actually elected to office.

Even-numbered year elections have National / State / County / Township offices. 

Odd-numbered year elections have the City / School / Community College offices. 

A voter's party affiliation does not matter in a general election like it does in an even-numbered year partisan primary election.

Every registered voter within a voting precinct will receive the same ballot style for a general election, regardless of their political affiliation.

Candidates are listed with their party affiliation on the ballot for partisan contest races in even-numbered years.

Candidates are listed without their party affiliation in all years when a nonpartisan contest race appears on an election ballot.

A special mail ballot election is an election conducted entirely by mail at the request of a jurisdiction.

Ballots are mailed to all active registered voters, and ballots are then marked by the voter and returned by mail to the Election Office. 

Ballots may also be returned in person at the Election Office during regular business hours or by using a designated drop box . All ballots must be returned by 12:00-noon on Election Day for special mail ballot elections.

A mail ballot election may only be conducted for a “question-submitted” matters, such as a school district seeking voter approval of a bond issue for the district, or a sales tax ballot question.

Prior to 2025, election day was determined by the Election Commissioner. 

In 2025 Kansas lawmakers voted to limit the windows for special elections. Previously, special elections could happen at any time. Under the new rules, special elections are limited to three specific days:

• The Tuesday of the first full week in March (starting in 2026 the only date available to conduct an all-mail ballot election)
• The August primary election
• The November general election

The deadline to receive a ballot is 12:00-noon on election day for a special mail ballot election. Mail ballots returned after the 12:00-noon deadline are marked "Received Too Late" and are recommended to the Canvass Board to not be counted. 

Voters returning their ballot after the 12:00-noon deadline, but prior to the Canvass Board meeting, will receive voting history for casting a ballot even though their ballot is recommended to not count and will not be included in the final voting tabulations.

Active voters residing within the voting district, who are registered to vote at least 30-days prior to Election Day, automatically receive a mail ballot. No mail ballot application is required for an all-mail ballot special election. Ballots are mailed beginning 20-days before Election Day.

Voters registering within 30-days before Election Day, but before the voter registration deadline, which is 21-days before Election Day, must apply for a mail ballot using a Replacement Mail Ballot Form provided by the Election Office. The deadline for such requests is the three days prior to the Election Day, or the Friday prior to a Tuesday election.

For a mail ballot election, there will not be any polling places open on Election Day.  Accessible voting options will be available at the Election Office. 

All active registered voters will be mailed a ballot for a special mail ballot election. A mail ballot application does not need to be submitted for a special mail ballot election.

The voter registration deadline for a mail ballot election closes 21-days before Election Day.

Voters who register between 30-days and 21-days before Election Day of a special mail ballot election are eligible to apply for a mail ballot. A ballot will not be sent automatically to these voters.

A voting district resident may submit a voter registration application and a Replacement Mail Ballot Form together.

The voter registration application must be postmarked or received in the Election Office by the date voter registration closes.

Every ballot mailed will include instructions on voting the ballot and completing the return envelope. No postage is necessary to return voted ballots for special mail ballot elections, if mailed in the United States.

Only one voted ballot is permitted to be returned in each voter-specific return envelope.

The voter’s signature and current address are required to be noted by the voter on the return envelope by Kansas Statute.

If the affidavit is not signed on the return envelope by the voter, Kansas law prohibits anyone from opening the return envelope or counting the voted ballot. The Affidavit of Voter must be signed on the return envelope for a ballot to be opened and counted.

A voter who is sick, disabled, or is not proficient in reading the English language may need the assistance of another person to mark and/or return the ballot. 

Any such person providing assistance to a voter must sign the Affidavit of Assistance section of the return envelope.

All ballots cast in a special mail ballot election must be received (not postmarked) by the Johnson County Election Office on or before 12:00-noon on Election Day.

Mail ballots being returned by the UP Postal Service should be sent several days prior to Election Day so that it will arrive in the Election Office not later than 12:00 noon on Election Day.

Mail ballots may also be delivered to the Election Office in person or returned to a designated ballot drop box location, if a voter is not confident that the US Postal Service will deliver the ballot to the Election Office by the 12-noon deadline.

All ballots personally returned to the Election Office or to a drop box location on Election Day must be received by 12:00 noon. Ballots returned after the noon deadline for a special mail ballot election are marked "Received Too Late" and are recommended to the Canvass Board to not be counted..

The privacy and secrecy of a ballot is maintained by a careful and deliberate procedure when voted mail ballot envelopes are opened.

After the voter's signature and information on the return envelope has been confirmed, return envelopes are opened by a bi-partisan special election board.

When the return envelopes are opened, the voted ballot is removed and placed face down in one pile to prevent anyone from seeing how the ballot is voted. The empty envelope is placed in a separate pile.

After the voted ballots are separated from the envelopes, the empty envelopes are banded and placed in a storage box, then ballots are unfolded and flattened.

Mail ballots are batched and processed through a high-speed tabulator that counts and images the ballots for tabulation. After ballots are scanned, they are placed in a storage box and sealed.

Unofficial results are posted at the Election Office web site as soon as results are available on Election Day.

Official final results will be posted to the website after the Board of Canvassers meet to consider all provisional ballots, and to certify the election.

In 2025 Kansas lawmakers voted to limit the windows for special elections, such as school bond votes. Previously, special elections could happen at any time. Under the new rules, special elections will be limited to three specific days:

• The Tuesday of the first full week in March
• The August primary election
• The November general election

A special election can be either a polls election, where advance in-person and advance by mail voting will be offered in addition to voting in-person at designated polling sites on Election Day, or a special election can be an all-mail ballot special election. The jurisdiction calling for the election determines the election format.