By Quinn O’Hara

As the nation prepares for the upcoming 2024 presidential election, County election offices in Kansas have begun the prep work for the presidential preference primary on March 19th of 2024.

This is just the third time Kansas has held a presidential preference primary. The first was held in 1980, and the second in 1992.

According to the Kansas Secretary of State website, “A presidential preference primary takes an act by the Kansas legislature to be conducted. The enactment takes the responsibility from the two state parties (Republican and Democrat) 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 select the party candidate.”

Presidential candidates must file their candidacy with the Secretary of State 60 days before the election, or 12:00 p.m. January 19, 2024.

The first day of advanced voting is Wednesday, February 28, 2024, and the election will be held on Tuesday, March 19th, 2024. Check with your county election officer for specific times and locations.