News & Commentary

After three years, Progeny v. City of Wichita, a lawsuit regarding the Wichita Police Department’s use of a gang list, is awaiting approval. If approved, some names that were incorrectly on the gang list will be removed, and the criteria for the database will change.

The ballot box is a powerful tool: it amplifies our voices, holds the powerful accountable, and induces change in our society. Every person legally able to vote should be able to cast a ballot. That’s why a change is necessary in Hays.

“Voting is a right that we have. It wasn’t too long ago they made this a constitutional amendment so women and other minorities were able to vote,” said Phillips. “It’s our responsibility to exercise this right and to make it count for us, because we matter."

As elections draw near, it’s more important than ever that all American citizens have the same opportunity to vote. But in Wyandotte County, it seems as if the election commissioner doesn’t think similarly.

A federal judge has ruled Dodge City’s five-decade-old election system does not unfairly suppress Latino voter choices and can remain in place, rejecting arguments from the American Civil Liberties Union and others.

"We are currently exploring next steps in this case and will continue to work for a truly representative democracy that ensures Latine voters can have their voices heard," a legal team of ACLU of Kansas, ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, Cleary-Gottlieb, and the UCLA Voting Rights Project said.

In a report released Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice said Black students were disciplined more frequently and more severely than white students. Black girls were particularly singled out for offenses such as insubordination.

Cindy Phillips, originally from Mexico City, became a U.S. citizen in December and registered to vote the very same day. She said systemic corruption in Mexican politics, including the murders of candidates and voters, make it dangerous to participate in democracy there.

Groups like the ACLU have opposed the installation of automatic license plate readers for their ability to capture photographs of thousands of license plates per minute, citing a lack of rules surrounding the technology, ittle or no oversight and not enough protections for the privacy of drivers.