The State Objections Board on Friday upheld Secretary of State Scott Schwab’s decision not to recognize the No Labels Kansas political party.

Kris Van Meteren and David Miller challenged Schwab’s dissolution of the No Labels Kansas party before the State Objections Board and failed. The board’s ruling denies Van Meteren and Miller spots as nominees on the general election ballot.

The board also invalidated the House candidacy of a Garden City Democrat.

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The board determined insufficient evidence to prove Miller is the chair of the party, invalidating his nominations and sustaining Schwab’s decision. Van Meteren said with a raised voice the decision is corrupt.

“I’m flummoxed, frankly, that some people that I thought had some integrity clearly do not, and it’s all about winning,” Van Meteren said.

On Thursday, Van Meteren and Miller represented themselves in a lawsuit over Schwab’s decision to dissolve the party. The judge refused to intervene in a political issue, and the case was referred to the Objections Board.

The board is a panel composed of the attorney general, governor and secretary of state or their representatives that resolves election disputes.

Before the board, Van Meteren cited a law passed decades ago to challenge the secretary of state’s authority to determine party leadership.

“That law specifically, specifically repealed statutes that gave the state of Kansas at that time the authority to intervene in various party functions,” Van Meteren said. “Including very clearly who is qualified or not qualified to serve as an officer of any party.”

Clay Barker, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office, listed several instances when the state has authority in party issues, including when two groups claim to be the party, leaving the decision to the state.

The authority to choose applies in this case, Barker said, as the secretary of state dissolved the party in May at the request of a different group of No Labels Kansas party leaders Schwab recognized in 2024.

Van Meteren said Schwab’s decision disadvantages voters, particularly the decision to disaffiliate thousands registered from No Labels Kansas to the unaffiliated category.

“Seven thousand people have had their voter registrations altered without their consent,” Van Meteren said. “Two million, roughly, Kansas voters are going to be deprived of choices on their ballot this fall.”

The board also denied Democrat Amy Arteaga’s objection to the secretary of state invalidating her filing to represent the Garden City area.

The letter Arteaga sent by mail declaring intent to run for her district went missing in delivery and failed to meet the filing deadline by a few hours.

Board members said a delayed delivery, even if not by the fault of the candidate, is not a reason to make an exception to the deadline. The same is true for other circumstances out of a candidate’s control, such as getting sick or stuck in traffic, the board members said.

The decision means incumbent Republican Representative Lon Pishny is the only candidate in the race.