Citizen participation is crucial to our democracy.
While the right to vote should be guaranteed to all eligible Americans, this fundamental constitutional right is constantly under attack. In the past decade, numerous states, often led by Kansas, have attempted or successfully passed legislation limiting the right to vote. These efforts have included new identification and documentation requirements, cuts to early voting, and purges of voter rolls. Each of these attacks on voting rights disproportionately hurts people of color, students, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
The more recent wave of attacks on voting rights have been enabled by a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Shelby County v. Holder, where the justices struck down parts of the Voting Rights Act. The ruling prevented the federal government from providing meaningful oversight to state and local governments wanting to change their voting laws. Citing “progress” in the states, the Court opened the door for the creation of new restrictions on voting.
Kansas is at the epicenter of this movement to undermine the right to vote, and many eligible Kansas voters face unnecessary hurdles or are unable to access the ballot box. Lawmakers continue to push legislation that hampers the ability of Kansans to vote, mostly by creating limitations on mail-in voting and ballot boxes. Through collaboration and persistent work, we worked with partners and largely fended off these restrictions.
What are we doing about it?
Having your vote heard through voting is central to our Kansas values and foundational to our democracy. That's why we're fighting for voting rights as a major part of our campaign REPRESENT! Reclaiming our Democracy and Restoring our Vote. This campaign aims to ensure representation for all Kansans by expanding early voting, increasing accessibility, and more.
