Kansas Supreme Court Decided Voting Is Not A Fundamental Right

[RAMROD 117,095]

A split Kansas Supreme Court ruling last week issued in a lawsuit over a 2021 election law found that voting is not a fundamental right listed in the state Constitution’s Bill of Rights. 

The finding drew sharp criticism from three dissenting justices on the high court. The Associated Press looks at what the ruling might mean for Kansas residents and future elections.

The ruling itself is wide-reaching, combining different lawsuits at various stages of litigation that challenge three different segments of a 2021 election law passed by the Kansas Legislature. It was a lawsuit challenging a ballot signature verification measure in which a majority of the high court found there is no right to vote enshrined in the Kansas Constitution’s Bill of Rights.

The measure requires election officials to match the signatures on advance mail ballots to a person’s voter registration record. The high court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of that lawsuit and instructed the lower court to consider whether the measure violates the equal protection rights of voters. But four of the court’s seven justices rejected arguments that the measure violates voting rights under the state’s Bill of Rights.

The decision was written by Justice Caleb Stegall, who is seen as the most conservative of the court’s seven justices, five of whom were appointed by Democratic governors.

A determination that voting is not a fundamental right could embolden state lawmakers to push for further restrictions on advance voting and mail-in ballots, said Jamie Shew, election officer for Douglas County — Kansas’ fifth most populous county.

The constant changes in election law are also confusing not only to election officials, but to voters, Shew said.

“I’ve had two voters who came in this morning, and they’re like, ‘Well, I read the paper about signature verification. Is my signature going to get tossed out?’” he recalled. “They were really nervous about it.”

Election laws had been fairly constant since the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act by Congress, Shew said. But that changed in 2013, when the U.S. Supreme Court tossed out a key provision of that act, he said.

“Since then the rules just keep changing,” Shew said. “And I think our job is making sure that voters not only don’t get confused, but also don’t get frustrated and just stop participating.”

Shew said he and other election officials will focus on meting out the state’s voting laws fairly and helping make sure the public understands them.

Justice Dan Biles said in his dissent that courts must insist that the signature verification requirement — if it survives the lawsuit against it — is handled reliably and uniformly across the state. That includes analyzing the procedures for how a mismatched signature is flagged, how a voter is notified of the mismatch and whether the voter is given a reasonable opportunity to cure the problem.

https://apnews.com/article/voting-rights-kansas-supreme-court-dc3806ffef51ad840dfa0654a3eb1c79?utm_source=copy&utm_medium=share

[PartySick 172,545]

This whole damn country was created because people didn't have representation in their ruling government. They really think taking Americans' right to vote away is smart?

[EART HL I NG 1,307]

Republicans really can’t stand to lose can they?

[Roughhouse Dandy 13,614]

I have so much hate in my heart for the people ruining my country just so they can gain power. 

[Pandacadabra 9,180]

Isn't Kansas a republican state? So why are conservatives trying to make things complicated, and possibly invalidate votes? 

[Bonkers 30,860]

1 hour ago, A Real Panda said:

Isn't Kansas a republican state? So why are conservatives trying to make things complicated, and possibly invalidate votes? 

I would hate to say anything mean or to generalize a group of people.  But, they're factually just really dumb.  

[Pandauralife 989]

1 hour ago, A Real Panda said:

Isn't Kansas a republican state? So why are conservatives trying to make things complicated, and possibly invalidate votes? 

I would say it's mainly an attack on the votes of the disenfranchised. 

[androiduser 7,438]

let me guess.... not a fundamental right for groups that don't vote Republican....

[27monster27 15,868]

I feel like we are watching what happened when Rome changed from a republic to an empire.

If that's the case then civil war is next. /hj

[Ladle Ghoulash 53,123]

6 hours ago, A Real Panda said:

Isn't Kansas a republican state? So why are conservatives trying to make things complicated, and possibly invalidate votes? 

The GOP lost big time on an abortion referendum in 2022 when KS citizens voted to reject a proposed  amendment to the state Constitution that would’ve banned abortion outright, so that probably at least partially informed this decision. 

[Emvee 8,831]

4 hours ago, A Real Panda said:

Isn't Kansas a republican state? So why are conservatives trying to make things complicated, and possibly invalidate votes? 

The ruling republicans aren’t conservative anymore, they’re reactionaries. Reactionaries only want the rich elite to have a say in our government. 

[Batwings 12,957]

It's so frustrating to me that we made SO MUCH social progress during the Obama years, and conservatives are outraged about it and trying to turn the US into the Republic of Gilead out of sheer spite. 

[ALGAYDO 35,133]

“Voting is not a fundamental right” is so dystopian, like… 

[Karl 3,575]

2 hours ago, Batwings said:

It's so frustrating to me that we made SO MUCH social progress during the Obama years, and conservatives are outraged about it and trying to turn the US into the Republic of Gilead out of sheer spite. 

This, I feel like the Obama years were peak USA 

[phantasmas 12,372]

if we have no right to vote then they have no right to those "elected" seats,  🤷🏻‍♂️ time to remove them, imo