Image courtesy Canva

On Tuesday, the House Elections Committee held hearings on House Bill 2452, a proposal to increase accountability in local government by moving all Kansas elections to even-numbered years. Currently, most local elections are held in odd-numbered years, often seeing voter turnout below 20 percent and even falling into the single digits in many communities. The bill aims to boost participation and ensure elected officials are accountable to a broader electorate.

Chairman Pat Proctor noted that a previous effort to move local elections from spring to November in odd years failed to increase turnout, with some areas still seeing fewer than 10 percent of voters participating. Proctor also said he believes the measure could help address one of Kansas’s biggest challenges- rapidly rising property taxes- by giving more voters a say in local government decisions.

“The vast majority of your property tax bill is set by the school board and by the city government. Yet the elections for those folks are some of the worst turnouts in the state. Some of the places I’ve been around the state turnouts less than 10%,” said Proctor. “By moving all their elections to the even year on the same ballot with President and Congress and the state offices, we’ll get more accountability. We’ll get more people voting in those elections to hold those folks accountable for skyrocketing property taxes.”

Proctor expects that the House Elections Committee, will vote on HB2452 within the next week. Representative Proctor has been in the House for three terms. Before that, he spent 25 years in the Army, including tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. He has served as the chair of the House Elections Committee for five years and is a candidate for Kansas Secretary of State.