The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for April 24, 2023
You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.
April 19th, Kansas Governor Laura Kelly vetoed a bill eliminating a three-day grace period for mail-in ballots. The bill pitted the common sense of election officials against voter fraud conspiracy theories. Common sense won.
The Topeka Capital-Journal reports that in 2017 the Republican majority in the Kansas legislature enacted a post election day three-day grace period to allow mail-delayed ballots to arrive. In sparsely-populated western Kansas, mail in some areas travels to New Mexico or Colorado to be processed.
Because of that distance, plus changes within the U.S. Postal Service making delivery times less reliable, the Kansas Secretary of State continues to support it. One supporter of eliminating the grace period said that the veto would continue to, QUOTE, “allow potentially illegal ballots to be counted.”
The ACLU of Kansas testified that 32,367 ballots were received during the grace period in the 2020 election – the equivalent to a sizable town’s worth of Kansas voters. The Kansas Secretary of State didn’t report ANY evidence of widespread fraud.
Governor Kelly wrote in her veto that SB 209 would likely result in the disenfranchisement of rural Kansas. Quote “We should be doing everything we can to make it easier – not harder – for Kansans to make their voices heard at the ballot box.”
We have links to articles and groups taking action at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. Follow us on Facebook @AmericanDemocracyMinute. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Topeka Capital-Journal – Gov. Laura Kelly vetoes election law change critics worry could hurt mail voting in Kansas
Democracy Docket – Kansas Governor Vetoes Bill Shortening Mail-in Ballot Return Window
Associated Press – Kansas likely to keep 3-day grace period for mail ballots
ACLU Kansas – Testimony on SB 394
Kansas Reflector – Republicans blast vetoes; Democrat House leader blames election restrictions on ‘small group of vocal loonies’
Groups Taking Action:
ACLU Kansas, League of Women Voters KS, Mainstream Coalition, Kansas Appleseed, Loud Light
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