Kansas has CLOSED primaries. What does that mean? Voters must be registered with a political party to vote. But voters who are Unaffiliated may declare affiliation on election day. The deadline to change party affiliation for the August 7 primary is the same date as the filing deadline - June 1 - so you may not know if there's a contested primary in your district until it's too late to change. What to do? Follow our helpful flowchart.