On January 11, the Kansas House Elections Committee passed HB 2017, although the bill was amended so it isn’t as favorable as originally introduced. Currently Kansas has no procedure for a qualified minor party to nominate anyone in special U.S. House elections, and requires approximately 14,000 signatures for an independent.

The bill provides that all qualified parties may nominate a candidate. It also changes the independent candidate petition to exactly 3,000. The original bill set it at 1,000. If the bill passes, it takes effect immediately. Kansas is likely to have a special U.S. House election in the spring of 2017, because one of the state’s House members will probably join the cabinet, leaving his seat empty. Thanks to Mark Johnson for this news.