A GOP split thwarted election conspiracy promoters in Kansas and sank tighter mail ballot rules

By JOHN HANNA
AP Political Writer

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A split among Republican lawmakers has doomed proposals from election conspiracy promoters to upend how Kansas conducts elections. The divide also sunk an effort with broader GOP support to shorten the time voters have to return mail ballots. A vote Tuesday in the state Senate was 18-22 on a bill that would have banned remote ballot drops boxes and, starting next year, barred local election officials from using electronic machines to count ballots. Both proposals respond to baseless arguments that U.S. elections are rife with fraud. Republican senators added them to a bill to eliminate the three days after Election Day that Kansas voters have to return mail ballots.