News & Commentary

The ACLU of Kansas recently released a poll that found 70% of Kansans want elected officials to focus on making it easier to vote, not harder. That included almost half — 47% — of Republicans. Allowing curbside voting at polling locations and increasing the number of polling locations in Kansas.

Republican Secretary of State Ron Thorburgh launched the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck; Kobach expanded the program. Kansas suspended the program in 2019 as part of a settlement with the ACLU of Kansas, which had sued on behalf of voters whose partial Social Security numbers were exposed.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas released a poll on voting rights Friday. The civil rights advocacy group found that 70% of Kansans support measures to make voting easier, rather than adding additional restrictions.

Across the ideological spectrum, numerous Kansas organizations and impacted citizens have come together on the problem of financially devastating our state’s minors and working families — and together, we’re calling on our lawmakers to move swiftly to correct it.

Lawmakers in Kansas have introduced seven bills in recent weeks focusing on abortion and transgender rights, such as SB 180, which received pushback from groups such as the ACLU of Kansas on the basis that it excludes transgender people from certain spaces.

Kansas lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would define biological sex and ban transgender athletes from women sports. However, Aileen Berquist, Policy Director for the ACLU of Kansas, argued that the bill is not about women’s rights.

Kansas citizens face criminal penalties for using cannabis to ease their medical suffering. For example, according to the Kansas ACLU’s press release, last December a Hays, KS man who was terminally ill and and facing the final stages of inoperable cancer had police search his room.

According to a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union, the Kansas Highway Patrol trooper used a tactic referred to as the “Kansas Two Step,” in which troopers target motorists with out-of-state license plates or those traveling to or from Colorado, where recreational marijuana is legal.

“My understanding is that they are jumping from state to state, pushing a very specific agenda,” Berquist said. “The people who are opponents of this bill are living, working, having children and fighting this hatred in our communities every day, and they deserve to have their voices heard.”