News & Commentary

Five transgender Kansans who want to get or keep a driver’s license matching their gender identity are going to court to fight Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s effort to block state officials from changing IDs.

A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union finds that accessibility to voting in the Sunflower State depends on where you live. The ACLU of Kansas says there are several key factors that expand accessibility for voters.

A legal battle is brewing over a new law that took effect July 1. Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s legal opinion over SB 180 is getting snubbed by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly. 27 News Capitol Bureau Chief Rebekah Chung sat down with Micah Kubic ED of the ACLU of Kansas and Kobach.

The ACLU of Kansas also condemned the action. “No matter how much Attorney General Kobach and extremists in our state legislature may wish to, they cannot erase the fundamental protections the Constitution guarantees to every single LGBTQ+ Kansan,” said Micah Kubic, executive director.

A new report from the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas examines the effect county election officials can have on voter turnout and urges them to adopt policies that support democracy.

In the ACLU’s “All Democracy is (Still) Local” study, the organization finds that voters across Kansas have “wildly varied access to democracy across the state.”

"It’s troubling to see Mr. Kobach cynically seize an opportunity for political gain that will no doubt ultimately be another round of continuing legal education for him,” Kansas ACLU executive director Micah Kubic said.

"He's saying that because the state legislature happened to pass another bill, which is extreme and vague and constitutionally suspect in its own way that, therefore, you shouldn't have to follow the court's order or the Constitution. And I think that's a laughable argument," Kubic said.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas and the LGBTQ+-rights legal group Lambda Legal, representing the four Kansas residents, condemned Kobach’s move. Lamda Legal’s Omar Gonzalez-Pagan called it “unnecessary and cruel.”