Kansas Attorney General Opinion 1992-037

ROBERT T. STEPHAN
ATTORNEY GENERAL
March 13, 1992
ATTORNEY GENERAL OPINION NO. 92- 37
The Honorable Phil Martin
State Senator, Thirteenth District
State Capitol, Room 504-N
Topeka, Kansas 66612
The Honorable Ed McKechnie
State Representative, Third District
State Capitol, Room 281-W
Topeka, Kansas 66612
The Honorable Robert Grant
State Representative, Second District
State Capitol, Room 273-W
Topeka, Kansas 66612
Re: Elections--Registration of Voters--Deputy County
Election Officers; Appointment; Additional Places
of Registration Permitted; Door-to-Door Voter
Registration
Synopsis: Pursuant to K.S.A. 25-2303, the county election
officer has the authority to appoint any qualified
elector of the county to serve as deputy county
election officer provided the county election
officer determines that the qualified elector
possesses similar character and trustworthiness as
that commonly associated with those persons who are
city clerks of any city or personnel of any public
high school, public library, or public institution
of higher education. The intent of the legislature
as expressed in K.S.A. 25-2313 is to allow
designation of fixed places to which persons may go
to register to vote. The statute does not
authorize registration of voters to be conducted

door-to-door. Cited herein: K.S.A. 25-2303;
25-2310; K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 25-2311; K.S.A.
25-2312; 25-2313; K.A.R. 1991 Supp. 7-23-4.
Dear Senator Martin, Representatives McKechnie and Grant:
As legislators for your respective districts, you request our
opinion regarding whether a county election officer possesses
certain authority. Specifically, you ask whether a county
election officer has the authority to appoint any qualified
elector of the county to serve as deputy county election
officer. You also ask whether a county election officer or
deputy county election officer may conduct voter registration
in a door-to-door manner.
The interpretation of a statute is a question of law and it is
the function of the court to interpret the statute to give it
the intended effect. U.S.D No. 279 v. Sec'y of Kansas
Dept. of Human Resources, 247 Kan. 519, 524 (1990). The
fundamental rule of statutory construction is that the purpose
and intent of the legislature govern when that intent can be
ascertained from the statute. Id. at 527. When a statute
is plain and unambiguous, the court must give effect to the
intention of the legislature as expressed, rather than
determine what the law should or should not be. State v.
Coley, 236 Kan. 672, 675 (1985).
K.S.A. 25-2303 states that the officer responsible for
administering the provisions of the act regarding registration
of voters is the county election officer. Subsection (b) of
the statute designates those city clerks who are to be
appointed as deputy county election officers. The statute
then provides:
"(c) Deputy county election officers
shall maintain records and perform duties
under the provisions of this act only in
the manner prescribed by the county
election officer. County election
officers may appoint such deputy county
election officers as they deem
appropriate, including but not limited
to the city clerk of any city, personnel
in any public high school, any public
library or public institution of higher

education, in addition to those required
to be appointed under the provisions of
this section." K.S.A. 25-2303 (emphasis
added).
It is clear from the statute that a county election officer
may, as he or she determines appropriate, appoint persons to
serve as deputy county election officers. Within the
provisions of the statute is a list of persons who may be
appointed as deputy county election officers. One of the
common rules of statutory interpretation is that the mention
or inclusion of one thing implies the exclusion of others.
State v. Wood, 231 Kan. 699, 701 (1982). However, the
statute clearly states that the county election officer is not
limited to selection of those persons set forth in the
statute. The list provided is not intended to be all
inclusive; rather, it provides examples of the types of
persons who may be appointed to serve as deputy county
election officers. Therefore, the county election officer has
the authority to appoint any qualified elector of the county
to serve as deputy county election officer provided the county
election officer determines that the qualified elector
possesses similar character and trustworthiness as that
commonly associated with those persons who are city clerks of
any city or personnel of any public high school, public
library, or public institution of higher education.
Pursuant to K.S.A. 1991 Supp. 25-2311, "[c]ounty election
officers shall provide for the registration of voters at one
or more places. . . ." Places of registration may be located
in the main office building of the county government and the
main offices of the city government. K.S.A. 25-2312. "County
election officers may provide for additional places of
registration. Such additional places may be located other
than in buildings in the event such places are determined to
be suitable by the county election officer." K.S.A. 25-2313
(emphasis added).
In determining legislative intent, courts are not limited to a
mere consideration of the language employed but may properly
look into the historical background of the enactment, the
circumstances attending and subsequent to its passage, the
purposes to be accomplished and the effect the statute may
have under the various constructions suggested. Joe Self
Chevrolet, Inc. v. Board of County Comm'rs of Sedgwick
County, 247 Kan. 625, 633 (1990). Therefore, in
determining legislative intent, it is proper to consider the

circumstances leading to the adoption in 1982 of an amendment
to K.S.A. 25-2313.
As originally enacted, K.S.A. 25-2313 authorized county
election officers to "provide for additional places of
registration during periods when it is anticipated a large
number of persons may wish to register." In Attorney General
Opinion No. 80-263, it was opined that K.S.A. 25-2313
(Ensley 1979) did not permit the designation of a "motor
vehicle" as an additional place of voter registration. The
opinion provides that "[a]pplication of established rules of
statutory construction discloses a legislative intent that
eligible voters be apprised with specificity as to the times
and places of registration, requiring a finding that such
additional places of registration must be buildings to which
the public has access." Attorney General Opinion No. 80-263.
In the text of the opinion, it is stated:
"Although it is arguable that certain
types of vehicles situated at fixed
locations might accommodate the
anticipated increase in the number of
registrants, while satisfying the
statutorily-recognized need for
specificity in the places of registration,
we decline to read such provisions into
the statute without benefit of clear
legislative intent to that effect." Id.
Subsequent to issuance of Attorney General Opinion No. 80-263,
the legislature provided such clear legislative intent through
its amendment in 1982 of K.S.A. 25-2313. Therefore, a county
election officer may designate as an additional place of
registration a place other than in a building.
While the legislature provides clear indication that it does
not limit the designation of places of registration to be in
buildings, the 1982 amendment did not affect or alter the
intent of the legislature that eligible voters be apprised
with specificity as to the times and places of registration.
K.S.A. 25-2312 and 25-2313 continue to authorize designation
of places of registration. Also, K.S.A. 25-2310 continues
to obligate the county election officer to "cause publication
. . . of a notice of places and dates for registration and the
closing thereof. . . ." The form of the notice must follow
the form prescribed in K.A.R. 1991 Supp. 7-23-4, and include
the dates, times and places of registration. The intent of
the legislature is to allow designation of fixed places to

which individuals may go to register to vote. The effect of
the 1982 amendment to K.S.A. 25-2313 is to permit such places
to be located in temporary or mobile structures at a fixed
location. K.S.A. 25-2313 does not authorize registration of
voters to be conducted door-to-door.
Very truly yours,
ROBERT T. STEPHAN
Attorney General of Kansas
Richard D. Smith
Assistant Attorney General
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