The government of the US State of Kansas, established by the Kansas Constitution, is a republican democracy modeled after the Federal government of the United States. The state government has three branches: the executive, legislative, and judicial. Through a system of separation of powers or "checks and balances," each of these branches has some authority to act on its own, some authority to regulate the other two branches, and has some of its own authority, in turn, regulated by the other branches.

The state government of Kansas is divided into an executive, a legislative and a judicial branch. The Governor, the state's chief executive, has a degree of direct executive power but must share executive power with other state-wide elected officers. The Lieutenant Governor serves as the first-in-line successor to the Governorship should a vacancy occur.

The Legislature comprises the House of Representatives and the Senate. It passes statutes, votes on the budget, and controls the action of the executive through oversight and the power of impeachment. The President of the Kansas Senate presides over the Senate and the Speaker of the House presides over the House of Representatives. Both officers are in line to succeed to the Governorship in the event of a vacancy, behind the Lieutenant Governor.

The independent judiciary is based on the common law system which evolved from use in the British Empire. It is divided into the two courts of last resort, one (the Supreme Court) dealing with civil law and the other (the Court of Appeals) dealing with criminal law. The Court of Impeachment monitors the activities of all state-wide elected officials, including the Justices of the Supreme Court.

The people of the state reserve the right to directly participate in the government by referendum, recall, and ratification.

The Governor is both head of state and head of government for Kansas. Under the constitution, the Governor elected to serve a four-year term. The Governor presides over the executive branch, commands the militia of the state, and makes sure that the laws of the state are enforced and that the peace is preserved. The Governor is the State�s chief representative and spokesperson to the other states within the United States, the United States federal government, and all foreign nations. The Governor must sign all bills passed by the Legislature in order for those bills to become law. Should the he veto a bill, the Legislature may override his veto with a two-thirds vote.

In certain emergencies the Governor may assume special, comprehensive powers. These powers involve greater police power and near absolute control over state, county, and local agencies and resources. However, in normal times, the Governor may not enact legislation, though he may issue executive orders (when empowered to do so by the Legislature) which are binding throughout the State. Such executive order do not have the force of law and may only be issued when related directly to the Governor's duties. Of course, if the Legislature is controlled by his political party, the Governor may strongly suggest the adoption of certain legislation, or request other executive officers to take such actions as the Governor sees fit.

In order to be elected Governor, any gubernatorial candidate is required to obtain a state-wide plurality of all votes cast in their election. Given the dominance of the two-party system in Kansas (between the Democrats and the Republicans), the plurality is often a majority as well. However, in case the event that two or more candidates have an equal number of votes, the Legislature, by joint ballot, elects one of those candidates Governor.

The constitution names the Governor the state's chief magistrate and vested in him the supreme executive power. As a consequence, the Governor is the preeminent figure in Kansas politics. Though he shares power with many other executive officers, in the event of a vacancy anywhere in the executive branch, he appoints their successor. The Governor appoints the heads of most all state departments and agencies as well as the members of most state commissioners and boards. However, these appointment do require Senate approval. Some serve at his pleasure while others serve fixed terms.