By Trish Svoboda

No Labels Kansas has met the statutory requirements to officially be recognized as a political party in Kansas, as announced by Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab in a release.

No Labels Kansas fulfilled the criteria by submitting a petition that included signatures from registered voters, equal to 2 percent of the total votes cast in the 2022 statewide gubernatorial general election. County officials authenticated the petition signatures and reported their results to the secretary of state’s office as stipulated by K.S.S 25-302a.

Americans Elect was the most recent political party to get recognition in Kansas in 2012. However, it lost its official recognition in 2013 after failing to nominate any candidates in the 2012 elections.

No Labels Kansas became a minor political party, aligning itself with the Libertarian Party, recognized in 1992. It is ineligible to take part in the August primary election and must nominate candidates for the November general election through convention or caucus.

A minor party has the opportunity to become a major party and gain the right to nominate its general election candidates in the August primary if its governor candidate secures over five percent of the statewide vote.

No Labels Kansas, upon receiving official recognition, may now register voters under its affiliation and nominate candidates for public office as described in K.S.A. 25-301.

The voter registration forms in Kansas have been updated to include No Labels Kansas as an option for voter affiliation.