August 18, 2022, Hiawatha - State Senator Dennis Pyle says his concerns of delay on his petition to file for governor are accurate and real. Pyle received an email from the Secretary of State which clearly presents the delay in certification of his petition. Reports Pyle has received suggest that some counties have just received the petition for the validation process as of this week. 

Pyle said, "We are witnessing the type of behavior you would expect from the left-leaning Liz Cheney-Derek Schmidt Republicans carrying out their plan to keep me off the ballot. These FBI-like activists are employing the same Mar-a-Lago like tactics used -to keep Trump out of the presidential race- to prevent my petition and stop my campaign. I believe it is their goal to keep kicking the can down the road." 

The email from Clay Barker, states clearly the Secretary of State has no intention of validating the Pyle petition until early September, if then. It is also clear they are not acting expeditiously to fulfill the people's petition to put Pyle on the ballot. Pyle volunteers gathered 8,894 signatures from 85 different counties; 5,000 is the requirement for certification. Orman's petition in 2018 took only 11 days to certify.  

Stating the obvious, Pyle added, "They are making excuses. Clearly the Secretary of State is acting in liberal, loyal party fashion to delay, if not prevent, the certification. It appears they are running a quasi-organized operation on behalf of those who object to a real, freedom loving Christian, Dennis Pyle, candidacy. It isn't that difficult to check the list, this isn't rocket science, after all they did it in only 10 days in 2018. We are witnessing big brother exercising bully style tactics." 

*** 

The following is from Clay Barker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, General Counsel 

    There are two different types of nominating petitions: 

1. Candidates seeking to have their name placed on a political party’s primary election ballot to be nominated as the party’s candidate in the general election, and 

2. Candidates seeking to have their name placed on the general election ballot as an independent candidate.  Senator Pyle has opted for this approach. 
   
     
   
   Chapter 25, Article 2, governs party candidate nominating petitions.  KSA 25-208a(a) specifies that “Within 10 days , Saturdays, Sundays and holidays not included, from the date of the filing of nomination petitions . . ., the secretary of state shall determine the validity of such petitions or declaration.”   That provision does not apply to Sen Pyle’s petition. 
   
     
   
   Chapter 25, Article 3, specifically KSA 25-303 and -305, governs independent candidate nominating petitions like Sen Pyle’s petition.  Those statutes do not prescribe a time period in which the Secretary of State must determine the validity of the petition.  This makes pragmatic sense since the deadline for submitting the petition is the day before the primary election, and county election offices will spend the two to three weeks following the primary election on audits, county canvasses, and recounts before they can turn their staff resources to petition signature verification.  Unlike in 2018 when the Orman/Doll petition was submitted, in 2022 there are post-election audits in every county, close election audits in every county for the GOP Treasurer race, and 24 counties conducting hand recounts. 
   
     
   
   It remains our goal to make a determination on the petition’s validity before the State Canvass, which must be held on or before September 1.  
   
     
   
   If you have any other questions please let us know. 
   
     
   
   Clay 

   Clay Barker 

   
   Deputy Assistant Secretary of State 
   
   General Counsel