Voting Rights Groups Sue Kansas Over Voter Suppression Laws
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Voting rights groups sued Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab (R) and Attorney General Derek Schmidt (R) on Tuesday after the state’s Republican Legislature overrode Gov. Laura Kelly’s (D) veto to enact two new voter suppression laws last month. The complaint, filed by the League of Women Voters of Kansas, Loud Light, Kansas Appleseed and Topeka Independent Resource Center, alleges that the laws violate the Kansas Constitution by unduly burdening Kansans’ right to vote.
House Bill 2183 and House Bill 2332 ban nonpartisan, out-of-state groups from sending materials encouraging Kansans to vote, impose burdensome and vague signature requirements, make it a crime to assist and educate voters if the assistance appears to come from an “election official” and prohibit an individual or group from helping more than 10 voters deliver their completed ballots, among other provisions. The plaintiffs allege that these laws will make it harder for voters who are disabled, elderly or do not speak English to complete their ballots and will make it difficult for communities without reliable access to mail or transportation to return their ballots.