Bill would make it much harder for independent candidates to get on the Kansas ballot | Opinion

Dennis Pyle didn’t spoil the 2022 gubernatorial election for Kansas Republicans. But he did come awfully close.

Pyle, you might remember, is the conservative state senator from Hiawatha who ran as an independent candidate against Gov. Laura Kelly and her GOP challenger, then-Attorney General Derek Schmidt. Kelly beat Schmidt by 22,000 votes — and Pyle got 20,000 votes on a platform that ran well to Schmidt’s right.

Not a spoiler. But close. Close enough that a few Republicans blamed Pyle for cluttering up the race.

So it’s probably not a coincidence that the Committee on Elections in the GOP-controlled Kansas House is scheduled this week to hear testimony on a bill that would make it much more difficult for independent candidates to get on the gubernatorial ballot.

How difficult? Well, right now a candidate can get on the ballot by collecting 5,000 signatures from registered voters across the Sunflower State. The new bill would quintuple that threshold, to 25,000 signatures.

Pyle, for what it’s worth, turned in nearly 9,000 signatures backing his bid in 2022.

The legislation would also prohibit independent candidates from simply paying a fee to get on the ballot. That part’s probably not so bad: Who wants to see somebody simply try to buy their way into the election process?

Put it all together, though, and the bill sure looks like an attempt to muscle candidates like Pyle straight out of gubernatorial politics.

That’s certainly what Pyle thinks.

“This misguided bill makes it more difficult for candidates running for statewide office and takes Kansas in the wrong direction, concentrating power in the two party system,” Pyle said in an email.

He added: “Every candidate should have the same standards for filing. This legislation empowers the two party system by strengthening their control of elections, which is exactly what the elite establishment desires.”

He’s not wrong.

I don’t share Pyle’s right-wing politics — I think it’s a good thing he didn’t become governor. And I don’t particularly mind that Schmidt lost against Kelly, either.

Republicans could respond to that loss by trying to expand their appeal to statewide voters. Instead, they spend much of their energy these days trying to make it more difficult for Kansans to actually vote and obsessing over conspiracy theories. All in the name of so-called “election security.”

The latest bill is more of the same. It’s easier to win elections if you can just outlaw the competition.

Joel Mathis is a regular Wichita Eagle and Kansas City Star Opinion correspondent. He lives in Lawrence with his wife and son. Formerly a writer and editor at Kansas newspapers, he served nine years as a syndicated columnist.