News & Commentary

Democracy should not be a partisan matter — it’s the very foundation that ensures each Kansas voter can have a voice in the laws and policies affecting their lives. The election process is the single most meaningful way for Kansans to hold their elected officials accountable.

The ACLU of Kansas announced that a series of anti-voting proposals hit a pause on Tuesday, March 5, as legislators rejected Senate Bill 365, which initially sought to end the 3-day grace period for the acceptance of mail-in ballots.

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.

“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.”

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.

“Democracy is not a partisan matter. It’s the very foundation that ensures each Kansas voter can have a voice in the laws and policies affecting their lives,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of ACLU of Kansas.

A little more than a year ago, ACLU Kansas and other voting-rights groups filed a lawsuit against the city claiming that its at-large election system unlawfully dilutes the votes of Latinos – depriving them of proper representation.