Kansas Democrats planning presidential primary in May 2020

Kansas Democrats plan to hold a presidential primary in May 2020 with ranked-choice voting.

State Democratic Party Chairwoman Vicki Hiatt said Tuesday that the party believes a primary will attract more participants than caucuses. About 39,000 people participated in the party's presidential caucuses in 2016, which required participants to meet for several hours rather than simply submitting ballots.

The state party has submitted a plan to the Democratic National Committee for a May 2 primary to allocate the state's delegates to the party's national convention. The party plans to run the election itself and cover costs that could approach $200,000, depending on turnout.

Voters would rank all candidates. Candidates who receive fewer than 15 percent of the first-place votes would have their votes reallocated to voters' next preferred candidate.