News & Commentary

The ACLU of Kansas said Tuesday it is concerned about voters’ rights in Dodge City because of the location of the city’s lone, temporary polling place, but the office of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach contends no problem exists.

This is what happens when democracy is left in the hands of those who don’t care about their neighbor’s rights.

"Issues regarding voting, issues regarding criminal justice reform, that's what we're focusing on,” McCormick said. “We think those are so important and we also think that these are issues that would resonate with voters."

The officer’s actions were consistent with stop and frisk procedures, said Lauren Bonds, the legal director for ACLU of Kansas.

On October 3, 2018, the ACLU of Kansas wrote a letter to Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox addressing both historical polling place concerns and immediate concerns related to the relocation of a single, heavily burdened Dodge City polling site. 

The candidates talk about education, taxation, and industry, but not about the horrifically expanding prison system that likely would scuttle advances in each of these areas.

“We aren’t asking to see who they voted for or any private information,” said Bonds, who grew up in Hutchinson. “That information should be afforded the utmost privacy. However, people should know whether their vote counted or if people faced any unnecessary barriers to voting."

“Instead of simply acknowledging their violation of student first amendment rights, the district appears to be doubling down on the mistakes they’ve made,” said ACLU of Kansas Legal Director Lauren Bonds.

Last spring, Shawnee Mission School District leaders answered students who claimed their freedom of speech was violated by promising to investigate ways to improve.