FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 23, 2021
CONTACT: Mark McCormick, Director of Strategic Communications, 913-490-4113, [email protected]
OVERLAND PARK, KS -
STATEMENT FROM ACLU OF KANSAS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR NADINE JOHNSON:
We support Gov. Laura Kelly’s veto today striking down a raft of cynical voter suppression bills aimed at disenfranchising Kansas voters.
We believe that in America, voting is a right, not a privilege conferred on a favored faction able to traverse a bureaucratic, statutory maze calibrated to weaken turnout.
These measures, rammed through the last session are intended to make voting more difficult and what’s more, they penalize actions and behavior already crimes under Kansas law.
County Clerks and elections officials opposed these changes. The Secretary of State, who shares a party affiliation with those most determined to undermine Kansans’ ballot access, affirmed that the previous state and national elections were among the most secure in the nation’s history.
There was no cheating or fraud, the Secretary of State said.
The ACLU of Kansas believes that instead of following Georgia’s lead in discouraging turnout, Kansas should be working to expand civic participation.
Democracy requires participation.
Measures designed to stifle participation are by definition, undemocratic.
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About the ACLU of Kansas: The ACLU of Kansas is the statewide affiliate of the national American Civil Liberties Union. The ACLU of Kansas is dedicated to preserving and advancing the civil rights and legal freedoms guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Bill of Rights. For more information, visit our website at www.aclukansas.org.