RON THORNBURGH
Secretary of State |
STATE OF KANSAS |
Memorial Hall, 1st Floor
120 SW 10th Avenue
Topeka, KS 66612-1594
(785) 296-4564
www.kssos.org
|
NEWS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
Friday, August 29, 2003
Contact Information
Jesse Borjon, Communications Director
Office of the Secretary of State
(785) 296-4580
jesseb@kssos.org
THORNBURGH SUBMITS FINALIZED STATE PLAN
TO FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION
KANSAS TO RECEIVE UP TO $7.5 MILLION IN FEDERAL FUNDING
Topeka, KS - Kansas Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh announced today that
he has finalized the Kansas State Plan for implementation of the Help America
Vote Act (HAVA). With the submission of the 2003 state plan, Kansas is eligible
for up to $7.5 million in federal funding, with the possibility of additional
funding in the future.
The state plan is one of the mandates imposed by Congress to improve administration
of elections across the country. The state plan was developed by the Kansas
Election Reform Advisory Council and the Secretary of State’s office.
Thornburgh stated, “As Kansas’ chief election official, I am responsible
for ensuring the new requirements are carried out and correctly implemented
in our state. This roadmap defines how we will improve the election process,
including voter education, election official training, accessible voting equipment
at every polling place and a statewide computerized voter registration system.”
HAVA was signed into law by President Bush on October 29, 2002, after a public
outcry following the presidential election of 2000. Each state is required to
produce a state plan that serves as a roadmap as to how they will implement
the requirements of HAVA.
After months of study and recommendations a public hearing was held on June
27 in which the state plan draft was offered for review. Since that time, Thornburgh
has finalized the plan for submission to the Federal Election Commission and
the Election Assistance Commission. The state plan is available at http://www.kssos.org.
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