{"id":2684861,"date":"2026-10-15T16:12:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-15T20:12:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncourt-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/"},"modified":"2026-10-15T16:14:15","modified_gmt":"2026-10-15T20:14:15","slug":"utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncourt-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/utm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncourt-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/","title":{"rendered":"Court: KS Can Stop Groups From Mailing Pre-Filled Ballot Forms"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Futm_sourcerssutm_mediumrssutm_campaigncourt-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2684861&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A federal appellate court upheld a Kansas law that prohibits third-party groups from sending voters pre-filled absentee ballot applications, affirming its constitutionality. The law was enacted in 2021 by the GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature to address issues from 2020, when errors in prefilled mail-in applications caused confusion among voters and overwhelmed election officials. The law was challenged by two left-wing organizations, VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center, which claimed it violated First and 14th Amendment rights by unlawfully &#8220;chilling&#8221; speech. Previously,a lower court had blocked the law,citing concerns over free speech,but the 10th Circuit reversed this decision.The court concluded that the law&#8217;s restrictions are unrelated to suppressing free speech and were enacted to prevent voter confusion, not to suppress political viewpoints. The ruling emphasizes that the law is a reasonable measure to ensure election integrity, and it dismisses claims that it was motivated by improper partisan intent. The case highlights ongoing debates over election laws and the influence of organizations involved in voter registration and turnout efforts.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"article-body body-md bdr-top-black pt-30\">\n<div class=\"row justify-content-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<figure class=\"article-thumbnail mb-30 mb-sm-60\">\n<div class=\"article-thumbnail-caption d-flex align-items-center justify-content-md-end label-xs mt-15\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-camera me-10\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Image Credit<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Leaving_KS_sign,_Route_66.jpg\">Marcin Wichary\/Wikimedia Commons\/<a href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/2.0\/deed.en\">CC BY 2.0<\/a>       <\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-share text-center article-share-simple\">\n<h5 class=\"label-sm mb-10\">Share<\/h5>\n<ul class=\"article-share-list list-unstyled m-0 p-0\">\n<li class=\"article-share-facebook m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer\/sharer.php?u=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/15\/court-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-facebook\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Facebook<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-twitter m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/15\/court-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Twitter<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-truth-social m-0\">       <a href=\"https:\/\/truthsocial.com\/share?title=Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms&#038;url=https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/15\/court-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" fill=\"currentColor\" style=\"width:36px;height:auto;\" viewbox=\"0 0 92 93\"><path d=\"M69.444 55.716H56.772v10.37h12.672zM64.487 37.795V27.32H38.666v38.664h13.18v-28.19zM21.05 27.321h12.653v10.471H21.051z\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/><\/svg>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article on Truth Social<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-link m-0\">       <button data-clipboard-text=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/15\/court-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/\" data-tooltip-content=\"Copied!\" class=\"clip tooltip\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-link-variant\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Copy Article Link<\/span>       <\/button>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\">       <a href=\"mailto:?subject=Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms&#038;body=%20https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/10\/15\/court-kansas-can-stop-third-parties-from-sending-voters-pre-filled-mail-in-ballot-forms\/\" target=\"_blank\">         <i class=\"mdi mdi-email\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>         <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Share Article via Email<\/span>       <\/a>     <\/li>\n<li class=\"article-share-email m-0\"><span class=\"printfriendly pf-button  pf-alignleft\">                     <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/thefederalist.com\/#\" rel=\"nofollow\" onclick=\"window.print(); pfTrackEvent(&#039;Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms&#039;); return false;\" title=\"Printer Friendly, PDF &#038; Email\">                     <span id=\"printfriendly-text2\" class=\"pf-button-text\"><i class=\"mdi mdi-printer\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><\/span>                     <\/a>                 <\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<div class=\"pf-content\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In a win for election integrity, a federal appellate court upheld on Wednesday a Kansas law prohibiting third-party groups from sending voters pre-filled absentee ballot applications. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cKansas acted after error-filled, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >prefilled mail-ballot applications flooded voters<\/a> and overwhelmed county election officials in 2020. Protecting voters from confusion and keeping elections orderly is commonsense, not suspect,\u201d said Honest Elections Project Executive Director Jason Snead, whose group <a href=\"https:\/\/honestelections.org\/honest-elections-project-files-amicus-brief-in-tenth-circuit-case-supporting-law-that-bans-pre-filled-absentee-ballot-applications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">filed<\/a> a brief supporting the Sunflower State in the case. <\/p>\n<div id=\"fdrlst__b89e9-4100707893\" class=\"d-flex justify-content-center fdrlst__b89e9-paragraph-2 fdrlst__b89e9-entity-placement\">\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1463670073398-0\" class=\"mb-30\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In its <a href=\"https:\/\/honestelections.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/VoteAmerica-v-Schwab-CA10.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">unanimous ruling<\/a>, the three-judge panel for the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals found that the Kansas law barring \u201cprivate parties from partially prefilling applications for mail ballots before those applications are sent to registered voters\u201d passes legal muster. The panel was comprised of Judges Timothy Tymkovich (Bush 43 appointee), Joel Carson (Trump appointee), and Senior Judge Michael Murphy (Clinton appointee). <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GOP-controlled Kansas Legislature <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courthousenews.com\/tenth-circuit-revives-kansas-ban-on-prefilled-voter-applications\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> the contested law in 2021, negating the veto of Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly. Two left-wing organizations \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/voteamerica\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VoteAmerica<\/a> and the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.influencewatch.org\/non-profit\/voter-participation-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Voter Participation Center (VPC)<\/a> \u2014 subsequently filed a federal lawsuit alleging that the statute\u2019s provisions violated the First and 14th Amendments.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Senior District Judge Kathryn Vratil, a Bush 41 appointee, initially granted a temporary injunction blocking the law from taking effect that same year. She later issued a complete decision in 2023, in which she agreed with the left-wing groups that the law\u2019s restrictions unlawfully \u201cchilled\u201d their speech under the First Amendment. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The 10th Circuit reversed Vratil\u2019s decision and, upon remand, instructed her to use a lower form of scrutiny to assess the law unless she found that the legislature had \u201cenacted it with improper motives.\u201d The Bush 41 appointee said she found such motives, prompting the state to once again appeal to the 10th Circuit for relief. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Writing for the majority in Wednesday\u2019s decision, Tymkovich ruled that Vratil \u201cfound an improper purpose without evidence from the prohibition\u2019s justifications, text, or legislative history,\u201d and \u201cinstead inferred an improper purpose from the national political debate on mail-in voting.\u201d \u201cThat finding,\u201d he said, \u201cwas in error.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause the prohibition was enacted without an improper purpose, we apply intermediate scrutiny and find the prohibition constitutional,\u201d Tymkovich wrote. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The appellate judge went on to note that the law \u201cis \u2018unrelated to the suppression of free speech\u2019 because it was not \u2018adopted by the government because of disagreement with the message the speech conveys.\u2019\u201d He observed that Kansas\u2019 reasons for implementing the law, such as to prevent confusion among voters, \u201care unrelated to viewpoint suppression.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVPC fails to show that Kansas enacted the prohibition to suppress its pro-mail-voting viewpoint. The district court\u2019s reliance on cultural antagonism against mail-in voting to infer the Kansas legislature enacted the prohibition with an improper purpose \u2014 when the law\u2019s justifications, text, and enactment history reveal no such purpose \u2014 was in error,\u201d Tymkovich wrote.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>[RELATED:[RELATED:<a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/04\/16\/why-did-this-left-wing-elections-group-send-an-iraqi-refugee-a-voter-registration-form\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Why Did This Left-Wing Elections Group Send An Iraqi Refugee A Voter Registration Form?<\/a>]<\/strong><\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While marketing itself as \u201cnonpartisan,\u201d VPC has <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-participation-center\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">regularly operated<\/a> as a vehicle for leftists\u2019 voter registration and get-out-the-vote machine. Not only does the organization send pre-filled mail-in ballot forms to prospective voters, but it also specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/07\/08\/meet-the-shadowy-left-wing-nonprofit-harvesting-voter-data-to-juice-democrat-turnout\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">targets<\/a> demographics likely to pull the ballot box lever for the Democrat Party. <\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\">\n<div class=\"article-author-description fst-italic\">      Shawn Fleetwood is a staff writer for The Federalist and a graduate of the University of Mary Washington. He is a co-recipient of the 2025 Dao Prize for Excellence in Investigative Journalism. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including RealClearPolitics and RealClearHealth. Follow him on Twitter @ShawnFleetwood<\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-30 bdr-top-bold-black\">\n<div class=\"row g-0 align-items-center\">\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6\">\n<div class=\"article-author-profile d-flex align-items-center justify-content-center justify-content-md-start\">\n<div class=\"article-author-details\">\n<div class=\"label-md\">Shawn Fleetwood<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-author-twitter label-sm d-flex align-items-center mt-10\">             <i class=\"mdi mdi-twitter me-5\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i>             <span class=\"visually-hidden\">Visit on Twitter<\/span>            <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ShawnFleetwood\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"text-decoration-none\">@ShawnFleetwood<\/a>           <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"col-12 col-md-6 d-flex justify-content-center justify-content-md-end mt-15 mt-md-0\">        <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/author\/shawnfleetwood\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">More Articles<\/a>     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"article-tags no-print bdr-top-black mt-30 mt-sm-60 pt-15 pt-md-45\">\n<ul class=\"list-unstyled d-flex flex-wrap align-items-center mb-0 mx-n10 p-0\">\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/10th-circuit\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">10th Circuit<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/court-ruling\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">court ruling<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/elections\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Elections<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/kansas\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Kansas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mail-in-ballots\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">mail-in ballots<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/mail-in-voting\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">mail-in voting<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/third-parties\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">third parties<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voteamerica\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">VoteAmerica<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-participation-center\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">Voter Participation Center<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"mt-10 mx-10\"><a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/tag\/voter-registration\/\" class=\"btn btn-black btn-small\">voter registration<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Court upholds Kansas law banning pre-filled ballot applications<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":539,"featured_media":2684862,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Kansas.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[87295,38778,6133,32546,4351],"class_list":["post-2684861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-ballot-forms","tag-election-laws","tag-kansas","tag-legal-decision","tag-voting"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Kansas.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/539"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2684861"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684861\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2684865,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2684861\/revisions\/2684865"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2684862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2684861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2684861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2684861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}