By Trish Svoboda

On Friday, Scott Schwab, the Secretary of State for Kansas, announced that United Kansas has fulfilled the statutory requirements to be officially acknowledged as a political party in Kansas.

To achieve this, United Kansas presented a petition with signatures from registered voters, amounting to 2 percent of the total votes cast in the 2022 statewide gubernatorial general election. The signatures on the petition were authenticated by county election officials, who then reported their findings to the Secretary of State’s office, in compliance with K.S.A 25-302a.

United Kansas has recently been recognized as a minor political party in Kansas, joining No Labels Kansas and the Libertarian Party. It cannot participate in the August primary election but must choose its November general election candidates by June 3 through a convention or caucus. If a minor party’s gubernatorial candidate garners more than 5% of the statewide vote, the party can become a major party and nominate its candidates in the August primary.

With United Kansas now officially recognized, the party has the eligibility to register voters under its banner and propose candidates for public office, as outlined in K.S.A. 25-301. The voter registration forms in Kansas have been updated to include United Kansas as a choice for voter affiliation.