News & Commentary

The American Civil Liberties Union claims Dodge City is violating federal voting laws by making it impossible for the Hispanic and Latino communities to elect someone to the city commission that truly represents them.

The lawsuit, filed in 2022 by ACLU Kansas and other voting rights groups on behalf of two Dodge City voters, argues that Dodge City’s at-large voting system violates federal voting rights law because it denies Hispanic and Latino residents the ability to elect representatives of their choosing.

The Hutchinson Chapter of the NAACP will host Dr. Micah Kubic on Thursday evening, March 7th, 2024 as their featured speaker.

“This case really goes to the heart of how American representation should work,” plaintiff’s attorney Jonathan Blackman said in his closing argument. “We’re talking about protecting the right and ability of minority voters to vote for their chosen candidate.”

In the latest installment of I Watch This Stuff So You Don’t Have To: Today, we’re looking at Thursday’s informational hearing on a bill pending in the Kansas Legislature that seeks to ban gender-affirming medical and psychological care for minors, and punish those who provide it.

D.C. Hiegert, an attorney at the ACLU of Kansas, said the proposals were among the largest and most harmful anti-trans bills that had ever been introduced in Kansas.

Recently, the Kansas Legislature introduced House Bill 2568, which would end the practice of assessing fees and fines to people moving through the state’s juvenile justice system. As I know firsthand, this is a reform that could prevent the cycle of poverty and incarceration that traps many youth.

The suit was filed to demonstrate the at-large approach to city commission elections allowing all Dodge City residents to vote for all five commission seats, as opposed to a district form of representation, distorted outcomes so no “Latine-preferred candidate” had been elected since 2000.

As a formerly incarcerated individual who successfully navigated the justice system, I understand firsthand the importance of restoring voting rights to citizens returning to public life.