WASHINGTON (AP) —Former President Donald Trump and some other Republicans are twisting minor voting problems in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">U.S. midterm elections</a>
 into conspiracy theories and false claims to sow doubt about Democratic
 victories, continuing efforts since 2020 to undermine Americans’ 
confidence in voting.

Election Day unfolded without major or 
widespread voting snags, yet some GOP candidates sought to distort the 
severity of the few hitches that occurred, such as voting <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">machines temporarily malfunctioning in Arizona’s largest county</a> and some Detroit voters wrongly being told they had already cast ballots.

“The
 most concerning thing is the way those isolated incidents are being 
used to spread mis- and disinformation and lies around the election in 
an attempt to undermine people’s confidence and faith in the election,” 
said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for the nonpartisan
 group Common Cause.

In 2020, conspiracies about a rigged election
 were fueled by bogus reports of suitcases stuffed with fraudulent 
ballots at a Georgia vote-counting operation and ‘’ballot mules’’ 
loading up drop boxes with fraudulent ballots.

The GOP has kept up the rhetoric since then and laid the groundwork for contesting this year's midterm elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-b5bbd44a2fe3ade45a1f6cf2a59c0639">More than 100 lawsuits were filed</a>
 across the country before Election Day, targeting mail-in voting rules,
 voting machine security and access for partisan poll watchers.

After
 Trump lost Arizona to President Joe Biden by just over 10,000 votes, he
 and his supporters peddled a string of allegations about election 
wrongdoing that crumbled under scrutiny.

Two years later, the state remains pivotal. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-274fa547d321f88762954f8f8806c88d">Democrats held narrow leads early Wednesday</a> in too-close-to-call races for governor and U.S. Senate.

Trump
 and some of his supporters sought to amplify problems with 
vote-tabulation equipment in roughly 25% of polling places in Maricopa 
County, home to Phoenix and the majority of the state’s population.

Codes
 on ballots that were printed too lightly to be be read by tabulating 
scanners caused the confusion. Impacted voters were given a choice: 
Leave their ballots in a locked box at their polling place to be counted
 at a central office on Wednesday, or take them to another voting center
 on Tuesday.

Trump seized on the problem in a message on his 
social network. He said the problem, which appeared similar to a voting 
issue in New Jersey’s Mercer County, was an effort by Democrats to 
“steal the election.”

“Every national election you have problems 
like these somewhere,” said Lawrence Norden, senior director of the 
Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “The
 fact that we’re talking about them the next day speaks to the fact that
 there was an organized effort to weaponize these types of things.”

The
 Republican official overseeing the election in Maricopa County 
apologized for the inconvenience and pledged that every legal vote would
 be counted no matter which method voters chose.

But Kari Lake, 
the Republican candidate for governor, told her supporters that they 
should leave the ballot to be counted later only if they couldn’t wait —
 and that they should not take it to another polling place.

In a late-night speech to supporters, Lake focused entirely on election issues.

“The
 system we have right now does not work,” she said. “We the people 
deserve to know on election night the winner and the loser and we will 
bring that kind of election back to Arizona. I assure you of that.”

Election
 critics also focused on a glitch in Detroit. Some electronic poll books
 used for signing in voters displayed an error message stating that 
numbers on ballots already had been assigned to an absentee ballot. Poll
 workers were able to use paper backup poll books when the electronic 
ones had problems.

Detroit is a Democratic stronghold in a swing state, so turnout there can be key in election outcomes. On Tuesday, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-a91578081bc2141151efdf74bb4b3ccb">Democrat Gretchen Whitmer was re-elected</a> as governor. Democrats also won races for attorney general and secretary of state, defeating <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-donald-trump-0ee9afeb304662dcec28e8af0f18bc1d">Republicans who questioned the 2020 election results</a>.

“It
 was identified and resolved quite quickly” and voters who were wrongly 
flagged were given ballots, said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the 
Michigan Secretary of State office.

But that didn’t keep Trump from urging his supporters to protest in Detroit — actions that did not materialize on Tuesday.

“We
 have seen misinformation spread about nuances and complexity of 
elections for more than two years,” Rollow said. “It continues to be a 
threat to our democracy, a threat to voters’ faith in our elections and 
really just an unfortunate part of the current political era.”

WASHINGTON (AP) —Former President Donald Trump and some other Republicans are twisting minor voting problems in <a href="https://apnews.com/hub/2022-midterm-elections?utm_source=apnewsnav&amp;utm_medium=featured">U.S. midterm elections</a>
 into conspiracy theories and false claims to sow doubt about Democratic
 victories, continuing efforts since 2020 to undermine Americans’ 
confidence in voting.Election Day unfolded without major or 
widespread voting snags, yet some GOP candidates sought to distort the 
severity of the few hitches that occurred, such as voting <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-donald-trump-arizona-4e15278b82452878d6f6aa45b2984579">machines temporarily malfunctioning in Arizona’s largest county</a> and some Detroit voters wrongly being told they had already cast ballots.“The
 most concerning thing is the way those isolated incidents are being 
used to spread mis- and disinformation and lies around the election in 
an attempt to undermine people’s confidence and faith in the election,” 
said Sylvia Albert, director of voting and elections for the nonpartisan
 group Common Cause.In 2020, conspiracies about a rigged election
 were fueled by bogus reports of suitcases stuffed with fraudulent 
ballots at a Georgia vote-counting operation and ‘’ballot mules’’ 
loading up drop boxes with fraudulent ballots.The GOP has kept up the rhetoric since then and laid the groundwork for contesting this year's midterm elections. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-lawsuits-donald-trump-race-and-ethnicity-b5bbd44a2fe3ade45a1f6cf2a59c0639">More than 100 lawsuits were filed</a>
 across the country before Election Day, targeting mail-in voting rules,
 voting machine security and access for partisan poll watchers.After
 Trump lost Arizona to President Joe Biden by just over 10,000 votes, he
 and his supporters peddled a string of allegations about election 
wrongdoing that crumbled under scrutiny.Two years later, the state remains pivotal. <a href="https://apnews.com/article/arizona-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-274fa547d321f88762954f8f8806c88d">Democrats held narrow leads early Wednesday</a> in too-close-to-call races for governor and U.S. Senate.Trump
 and some of his supporters sought to amplify problems with 
vote-tabulation equipment in roughly 25% of polling places in Maricopa 
County, home to Phoenix and the majority of the state’s population.Codes
 on ballots that were printed too lightly to be be read by tabulating 
scanners caused the confusion. Impacted voters were given a choice: 
Leave their ballots in a locked box at their polling place to be counted
 at a central office on Wednesday, or take them to another voting center
 on Tuesday.Trump seized on the problem in a message on his 
social network. He said the problem, which appeared similar to a voting 
issue in New Jersey’s Mercer County, was an effort by Democrats to 
“steal the election.”“Every national election you have problems 
like these somewhere,” said Lawrence Norden, senior director of the 
Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice. “The
 fact that we’re talking about them the next day speaks to the fact that
 there was an organized effort to weaponize these types of things.”The
 Republican official overseeing the election in Maricopa County 
apologized for the inconvenience and pledged that every legal vote would
 be counted no matter which method voters chose.But Kari Lake, 
the Republican candidate for governor, told her supporters that they 
should leave the ballot to be counted later only if they couldn’t wait —
 and that they should not take it to another polling place.In a late-night speech to supporters, Lake focused entirely on election issues.“The
 system we have right now does not work,” she said. “We the people 
deserve to know on election night the winner and the loser and we will 
bring that kind of election back to Arizona. I assure you of that.”Election
 critics also focused on a glitch in Detroit. Some electronic poll books
 used for signing in voters displayed an error message stating that 
numbers on ballots already had been assigned to an absentee ballot. Poll
 workers were able to use paper backup poll books when the electronic 
ones had problems.Detroit is a Democratic stronghold in a swing state, so turnout there can be key in election outcomes. On Tuesday, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/michigan-governor-race-2022-midterm-elections-a91578081bc2141151efdf74bb4b3ccb">Democrat Gretchen Whitmer was re-elected</a> as governor. Democrats also won races for attorney general and secretary of state, defeating <a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-midterm-elections-voting-donald-trump-0ee9afeb304662dcec28e8af0f18bc1d">Republicans who questioned the 2020 election results</a>.“It
 was identified and resolved quite quickly” and voters who were wrongly 
flagged were given ballots, said Jake Rollow, a spokesman for the 
Michigan Secretary of State office.But that didn’t keep Trump from urging his supporters to protest in Detroit — actions that did not materialize on Tuesday.“We
 have seen misinformation spread about nuances and complexity of 
elections for more than two years,” Rollow said. “It continues to be a 
threat to our democracy, a threat to voters’ faith in our elections and 
really just an unfortunate part of the current political era.”

Minor poll problems twisted into false US election claims

HUTCHINSON, Kan. —&nbsp;A constitutional question is on the ballot in November that, if approved, would give the Kansas Legislature the power to overturn administrative regulations it disagrees with.

"Right now, in Kansas, there is a missing puzzle piece to making sure that Kansas is as efficient as possible when it comes to regulation," said Elizabeth Patton with AFP-Kansas. "We all know that when there are too many regulations, or there's unneccessary red tape, it can raise costs. It can make things harder for farmers, for business owners, for individuals. That's not always on purpose, but there's a missing piece in the legislative process that would allow state legislators, on their committee, to say, pause, maybe this isn't what we want to do, where the state agencies have created a law, just by making a rule."

There is a committee that would already do this, if it had the power to do so, called the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations. Hutchinson Republican Rep. Paul Waggoner has been assigned to that committee in previous legislative sessions.

"Right now, it doesn't matter," Patton said. "I'm not even sure why that committee exists. What they would be able to do is say, pause, this might not be matching up with legislative intent. This might be overreach, this might be too costly, etc., and they get to do their jobs."

This is something pro-business groups have been working on for years, but the COVID pandemic brought forward just how much power the administrative state in Kansas now has.

"This was a bipartisan piece of legislation in the house," Patton said. "It passed two-thirds in both chambers, because it makes a lot of sense."

Both parties have reason to want regulations to have legislative oversight, so that there is an opportunity for opposition, even when the opposing party wins the governorship.

Below is the explanatory statement, as it will be on the Nov. 8 ballot and the question, as it will appear on the ballot.

The purpose of this amendment is to provide the legislature with oversight of state executive branch agencies and officials by providing the legislature authority to establish procedures to revoke or suspend rules and regulations.

A vote for this proposition would allow the legislature to establish procedures to revoke or suspend rules and regulations that are adopted by state executive branch agencies and officials that have the force and effect of law.

A vote against this proposition would allow state executive branch agencies and officials to continue adopting rules and regulations that have the force and effect of law without any opportunity for the legislature to directly revoke or suspend such rules and regulations.”

§ 17. Legislative oversight of administrative rules and regulations.

Whenever the legislature by law has authorized any officer or agency within the executive branch of government to adopt rules and regulations that have the force and effect of law, the legislature may provide by law for the revocation or suspension of any such rule and regulation, or any portion thereof, upon a vote of a majority of the members then elected or appointed and qualified in each house.

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2021/8/1629113022641.jpeg" alt="" />
 <figcaption></figcaption>
 </figure>NICK GOSNELL Hutch PostHUTCHINSON, Kan. —&nbsp;A constitutional question is on the ballot in November that, if approved, would give the Kansas Legislature the power to overturn administrative regulations it disagrees with."Right now, in Kansas, there is a missing puzzle piece to making sure that Kansas is as efficient as possible when it comes to regulation," said Elizabeth Patton with AFP-Kansas. "We all know that when there are too many regulations, or there's unneccessary red tape, it can raise costs. It can make things harder for farmers, for business owners, for individuals. That's not always on purpose, but there's a missing piece in the legislative process that would allow state legislators, on their committee, to say, pause, maybe this isn't what we want to do, where the state agencies have created a law, just by making a rule."There is a committee that would already do this, if it had the power to do so, called the Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations. Hutchinson Republican Rep. Paul Waggoner has been assigned to that committee in previous legislative sessions."Right now, it doesn't matter," Patton said. "I'm not even sure why that committee exists. What they would be able to do is say, pause, this might not be matching up with legislative intent. This might be overreach, this might be too costly, etc., and they get to do their jobs."This is something pro-business groups have been working on for years, but the COVID pandemic brought forward just how much power the administrative state in Kansas now has."This was a bipartisan piece of legislation in the house," Patton said. "It passed two-thirds in both chambers, because it makes a lot of sense."Both parties have reason to want regulations to have legislative oversight, so that there is an opportunity for opposition, even when the opposing party wins the governorship.Below is the explanatory statement, as it will be on the Nov. 8 ballot and the question, as it will appear on the ballot.Explanatory statement:The purpose of this amendment is to provide the legislature with oversight of state executive branch agencies and officials by providing the legislature authority to establish procedures to revoke or suspend rules and regulations.A vote for this proposition would allow the legislature to establish procedures to revoke or suspend rules and regulations that are adopted by state executive branch agencies and officials that have the force and effect of law.A vote against this proposition would allow state executive branch agencies and officials to continue adopting rules and regulations that have the force and effect of law without any opportunity for the legislature to directly revoke or suspend such rules and regulations.”Ballot Question: Shall the following be adopted?§ 17. Legislative oversight of administrative rules and regulations.Whenever the legislature by law has authorized any officer or agency within the executive branch of government to adopt rules and regulations that have the force and effect of law, the legislature may provide by law for the revocation or suspension of any such rule and regulation, or any portion thereof, upon a vote of a majority of the members then elected or appointed and qualified in each house.

Amendment for regulatory oversight by legislature on Nov. 8 ballot

By TIM CARPENTER and SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/23/governors-race-schmidt-denounces-kellys-approach-to-flaws-in-kansas-foster-care-system/">Kansas Reflector</a>

TOPEKA — Republican governor 
candidate Derek Schmidt shared frustration Tuesday with pace of progress
 on longstanding challenges of caring for children brought into Kansas’ 
privatized foster care system due to abuse or neglect.

Schmidt, who serves as the state’s attorney general, said Democratic 
Gov. Laura Kelly hadn’t kept pledges made during her 2018 campaign to 
resolve the state’s foster care crisis. Schmidt noted Kelly declared it 
her “moral obligation” to resolve shortcomings. Schmidt’s objections 
have roots in service gaps that vexed the Kansas Legislature as well as 
GOP Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer, who preceded Kelly as governor.

In a campaign statement, Schmidt and several of his GOP allies 
denounced Kelly because hard-to-place children were still sleeping in 
offices of organizations hired by the state to deliver foster care 
services. Housing was a point of emphasis for a task force as far back 
as 2017 that considered ailments of the foster system in Kansas. More 
recently, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, 
reported 79 children spent nights in foster care contractors’ offices in
 the months from January 2021 to May 2022.

Schmidt said Kelly had yet to stop children in foster care from 
running away from residential placements. Three years ago, the state’s 
daily average of missing foster kids was 90. Colyer created a special 
response team to track runaways, while Kelly expanded that group to 12 
members. DCF says 60 to 75 foster children were missing on a typical day
 in Kansas. On Monday, DCF’s daily online report on runaways showed 66 
of approximately 6,200 foster care children were unaccounted for.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general 
also reported 7% of Kansas’ foster care children were absent without 
leave from July 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020. Colyer was serving as 
governor for a portion of the 30-month inspection window, but the bulk 
of the period examined by HHS was on Kelly’s watch.

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Schmidt said. “She hasn’t fixed the
 problems she promised to solve. Kansas children deserve better and with
 the right leadership we can and will do better.”

Schmidt also questioned Kelly’s use of an executive order in 2021 to 
launch the Division of Child Advocate to investigate the well-being of 
youth in foster care by compiling complaints, reviewing practices of 
child welfare agents, and educating parents and children of their 
rights.

Kelly relied on her authority as governor because the House and 
Senate was unwilling to compromise on an oversight bill. The Senate 
passed legislation in 2021 that would have assigned foster care 
supervision to Schmidt at the same time he prepared for a partisan 
showdown with Kelly. The House preferred a bipartisan approach that 
would have placed the Legislature at the helm.

“Establishment of a child advocate is a commonsense win for Kansas 
kids and families,” Kelly said. “For years, our state’s essential family
 services were neglected and underfunded, leaving our kids and families 
more vulnerable than ever before. Fixing those systematic problems has 
been a top priority of my administration, and the Division of Child 
Advocate is a significant step forward to ensure every Kansas child is 
protected from harm.”

Schmidt criticized Kelly for settling a class-action lawsuit, 
including a payment of $2.3 million for plaintiffs’ legal fees, that had
 been filed by Kansas Appleseed, which succeeded in demonstrating the 
state inadequately cared for foster children. The suit was launched 
before Kelly took office in 2019, but resolved in 2021.

He further objected to the Kelly administration’s failure to complete
 annual reports on child sexual abuse reported by abortion clinics. DCF 
pulled together the 2022 version of the report and worked backward to 
complete the other annual reports on child sexual abuse that weren’t 
timely filed by Kelly, Colyer and Brownback administrations in the 
previous six years.

DCF spokesman Mike Deines said the Brownback administration 
inexplicably ceased publishing that information in 2016 and no one at 
DCF resumed that work until questioned earlier this year.

“We have a governor right now that has badly overpromised and 
underdelivered when it comes to fixing our foster care system,” said 
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican supporting 
Schmidt’s campaign.

Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican also backing the GOP nominee,
 said he was once in the foster care system and Kelly’s rhetoric didn’t 
register with wards of the state.

“I know these kids need a governor more focused on setting them up 
for success, not sweeping her own failures under the rug,” Penn said.

The number of Kansas children in foster care has diminished every 
year of Kelly’s administration, falling from 7,558 in 2019 to 6,985 in 
2020, to 6,737 in 2021 and 6,261 in 2022.

The number mushroomed from 5,200 in 2011 when Brownback took office 
to more than 7,100 before he resigned in 2018. The figure climbed as 
Brownback worked with the GOP-led Legislature in 2015 and 2016 to shrink
 federal food and cash assistance to low-income families. Tens of 
millions of dollars in aid to Kansas families was blocked under 
Brownback’s leadership. In the lone year of Colyer’s tenure as governor,
 the foster care system bulged to nearly 7,700.

In 2022, researchers at the University of Kansas linked a 5% increase
 in enrollment in federal nutrition assistance programs to a 7.6% to 
14.3% reduction in the number of children a state placed in foster care 
or protective services. The 50-state study of food stamps, or the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, showed states with more 
generous SNAP policies had fewer children in state care.

“Having access to the social safety net has an effect on child 
abuse,” KU economics professor Donna Ginther said. “With so many 
children in low-income households, poverty is what typically gets people
 more engaged with child protective services.”

Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, said Republicans were 
“absolutely desperate” to criticize Kelly’s handling of foster care.

“This administration has made leaps and bounds in improving our child welfare system,” Ousley said. “Are we perfect? No.”

Ousley, the ranking Democrat on the House Children and Seniors 
Committee, said Kelly had maneuvered the system so fewer children were 
entering foster care, fewer were sleeping in offices and fewer were 
missing. She also requested the Legislature make investments in 
preventative programs and roll back state restrictions on access to 
important safety net programs.

The governor’s decision to independently create an office of the 
child advocate appears to be working, Ousley said, because he gets fewer
 phone calls about problems within the foster care system, and he now 
has a place to direct people who have concerns.

“Governor Kelly took the football away from the Legislature when they
 were fighting over where to put the office of the child advocate, and 
when and what responsibilities,” Ousley said. “Derek Schmidt was a 
proponent of a terrible idea in the Senate, and even in his testimony he
 said, ‘If you’re going to do this, you ought to change this, you ought 
to change that.’ "

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661349644152.png" alt="Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor, said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had fallen short in reforming the state’s fostere care system. (Photos by Sherman Smith and Thad Allton/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the Republican nominee for governor, said Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly had fallen short in reforming the state’s fostere care system. (Photos by Sherman Smith and Thad Allton/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER and SHERMAN SMITH <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2022/08/23/governors-race-schmidt-denounces-kellys-approach-to-flaws-in-kansas-foster-care-system/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — Republican governor 
candidate Derek Schmidt shared frustration Tuesday with pace of progress
 on longstanding challenges of caring for children brought into Kansas’ 
privatized foster care system due to abuse or neglect.Schmidt, who serves as the state’s attorney general, said Democratic 
Gov. Laura Kelly hadn’t kept pledges made during her 2018 campaign to 
resolve the state’s foster care crisis. Schmidt noted Kelly declared it 
her “moral obligation” to resolve shortcomings. Schmidt’s objections 
have roots in service gaps that vexed the Kansas Legislature as well as 
GOP Govs. Sam Brownback and Jeff Colyer, who preceded Kelly as governor.In a campaign statement, Schmidt and several of his GOP allies 
denounced Kelly because hard-to-place children were still sleeping in 
offices of organizations hired by the state to deliver foster care 
services. Housing was a point of emphasis for a task force as far back 
as 2017 that considered ailments of the foster system in Kansas. More 
recently, the Kansas Department for Children and Families, or DCF, 
reported 79 children spent nights in foster care contractors’ offices in
 the months from January 2021 to May 2022.Schmidt said Kelly had yet to stop children in foster care from 
running away from residential placements. Three years ago, the state’s 
daily average of missing foster kids was 90. Colyer created a special 
response team to track runaways, while Kelly expanded that group to 12 
members. DCF says 60 to 75 foster children were missing on a typical day
 in Kansas. On Monday, DCF’s daily online report on runaways showed 66 
of approximately 6,200 foster care children were unaccounted for.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ inspector general 
also reported 7% of Kansas’ foster care children were absent without 
leave from July 1, 2018, to Dec. 31, 2020. Colyer was serving as 
governor for a portion of the 30-month inspection window, but the bulk 
of the period examined by HHS was on Kelly’s watch.“It doesn’t have to be this way,” Schmidt said. “She hasn’t fixed the
 problems she promised to solve. Kansas children deserve better and with
 the right leadership we can and will do better.”<h2>‘Commonsense win’</h2>Schmidt also questioned Kelly’s use of an executive order in 2021 to 
launch the Division of Child Advocate to investigate the well-being of 
youth in foster care by compiling complaints, reviewing practices of 
child welfare agents, and educating parents and children of their 
rights.Kelly relied on her authority as governor because the House and 
Senate was unwilling to compromise on an oversight bill. The Senate 
passed legislation in 2021 that would have assigned foster care 
supervision to Schmidt at the same time he prepared for a partisan 
showdown with Kelly. The House preferred a bipartisan approach that 
would have placed the Legislature at the helm.“Establishment of a child advocate is a commonsense win for Kansas 
kids and families,” Kelly said. “For years, our state’s essential family
 services were neglected and underfunded, leaving our kids and families 
more vulnerable than ever before. Fixing those systematic problems has 
been a top priority of my administration, and the Division of Child 
Advocate is a significant step forward to ensure every Kansas child is 
protected from harm.”Schmidt criticized Kelly for settling a class-action lawsuit, 
including a payment of $2.3 million for plaintiffs’ legal fees, that had
 been filed by Kansas Appleseed, which succeeded in demonstrating the 
state inadequately cared for foster children. The suit was launched 
before Kelly took office in 2019, but resolved in 2021.He further objected to the Kelly administration’s failure to complete
 annual reports on child sexual abuse reported by abortion clinics. DCF 
pulled together the 2022 version of the report and worked backward to 
complete the other annual reports on child sexual abuse that weren’t 
timely filed by Kelly, Colyer and Brownback administrations in the 
previous six years.DCF spokesman Mike Deines said the Brownback administration 
inexplicably ceased publishing that information in 2016 and no one at 
DCF resumed that work until questioned earlier this year.“We have a governor right now that has badly overpromised and 
underdelivered when it comes to fixing our foster care system,” said 
Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican supporting 
Schmidt’s campaign.<h2>Sweeping under rug</h2>Rep. Patrick Penn, a Wichita Republican also backing the GOP nominee,
 said he was once in the foster care system and Kelly’s rhetoric didn’t 
register with wards of the state.“I know these kids need a governor more focused on setting them up 
for success, not sweeping her own failures under the rug,” Penn said.The number of Kansas children in foster care has diminished every 
year of Kelly’s administration, falling from 7,558 in 2019 to 6,985 in 
2020, to 6,737 in 2021 and 6,261 in 2022.The number mushroomed from 5,200 in 2011 when Brownback took office 
to more than 7,100 before he resigned in 2018. The figure climbed as 
Brownback worked with the GOP-led Legislature in 2015 and 2016 to shrink
 federal food and cash assistance to low-income families. Tens of 
millions of dollars in aid to Kansas families was blocked under 
Brownback’s leadership. In the lone year of Colyer’s tenure as governor,
 the foster care system bulged to nearly 7,700.In 2022, researchers at the University of Kansas linked a 5% increase
 in enrollment in federal nutrition assistance programs to a 7.6% to 
14.3% reduction in the number of children a state placed in foster care 
or protective services. The 50-state study of food stamps, or the 
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, showed states with more 
generous SNAP policies had fewer children in state care.“Having access to the social safety net has an effect on child 
abuse,” KU economics professor Donna Ginther said. “With so many 
children in low-income households, poverty is what typically gets people
 more engaged with child protective services.”Rep. Jarrod Ousley, a Merriam Democrat, said Republicans were 
“absolutely desperate” to criticize Kelly’s handling of foster care.“This administration has made leaps and bounds in improving our child welfare system,” Ousley said. “Are we perfect? No.”Ousley, the ranking Democrat on the House Children and Seniors 
Committee, said Kelly had maneuvered the system so fewer children were 
entering foster care, fewer were sleeping in offices and fewer were 
missing. She also requested the Legislature make investments in 
preventative programs and roll back state restrictions on access to 
important safety net programs.The governor’s decision to independently create an office of the 
child advocate appears to be working, Ousley said, because he gets fewer
 phone calls about problems within the foster care system, and he now 
has a place to direct people who have concerns.“Governor Kelly took the football away from the Legislature when they
 were fighting over where to put the office of the child advocate, and 
when and what responsibilities,” Ousley said. “Derek Schmidt was a 
proponent of a terrible idea in the Senate, and even in his testimony he
 said, ‘If you’re going to do this, you ought to change this, you ought 
to change that.’ "

Schmidt denounces Kelly’s approach to Kansas’ foster care system

OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A decisive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">statewide vote</a>&nbsp;in favor of abortion rights in traditionally conservative Kansas was confirmed with a partial hand recount, with fewer than 100 votes changing after the last county reported results Sunday.

Nine of the state’s 105 counties recounted their votes at the request of Melissa Leavitt, who has pushed for tighter election laws. A longtime anti-abortion activist, Mark Gietzen, is covering most of the costs. Gietzen acknowledged in an interview that it was unlikely to change the outcome.

A no vote in the referendum signaled a desire to keep existing abortion protections and a yes vote was for allowing the Legislature to tighten restrictions or ban abortion. After the recounts, “no” votes lost 87 votes and “yes” gained 6 votes.

Eight of the counties&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-health-election-recounts-constitutions-f4062be36f3d72ca6e8aef5585324fdb">reported their results</a>&nbsp;by the state's Saturday deadline, but Sedgwick County delayed releasing its final count until Sunday because spokeswoman Nicole Gibbs said some of the ballots weren't separated into the correct precincts during the initial recount and had to be resorted Saturday. She said the number of votes cast overall didn't change.

A larger than expected turnout of voters on Aug. 2 rejected a ballot measure that would have removed protections for abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution and given to the Legislature the right to further restrict or ban abortion. It failed by 18 percentage points, or 165,000 votes statewide.

The vote drew broad attention because it was the first state referendum on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.

Gietzen, of Wichita, and Leavitt, of Colby, in far northwestern Kansas, have both suggested there might have been problems without pointing to many examples.

Recounts increasingly are tools to encourage supporters of a candidate or cause to believe an election was stolen rather than lost. A wave of candidates who have echoed former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was rigged have called for recounts after losing their own Republican primaries.

Kansas law requires a recount if those who ask for it prove they can cover the counties’ costs. The counties pay only if the outcome changes.

Leavitt and Gietzen provided credit cards to pay for the nearly $120,000 cost, according to the secretary of state’s office. Leavitt has an online fundraising page. Gietzen also said he is getting donations from a network built over three decades in the anti-abortion movement.

Gietzen said Sunday he doesn’t accept the results of the Sedgwick County recount because of the discrepancy about the way the ballots were sorted and because some of the recount happened Saturday without outside observers present to watch.

“We still don't know what happened in Sedgwick County. I won't pay for Sedgwick County,” he said.

He said he’s also concerned about the results statewide because of a report out of Cherokee county in southeast Kansas about the results of one county election being transposed between two candidates when the results were transferred on a thumb drive from one voting machine to a tabulating machine.

Gietzen said he plans to file a lawsuit Monday seeking a full statewide recall.

Gietzen said he won’t publicly report the names of private donors helping him finance the recount, even though a state ethics official says it’s required. Gietzen, who leads a small GOP group, the Kansas Republican Assembly, argues that he’s not campaigning for the anti-abortion measure but is instead promoting election integrity.

Votes were recounted in Douglas County, home to the University of Kansas’ main campus; Johnson County, in suburban Kansas City; Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, Shawnee County, home to Topeka; and Crawford, Harvey, Jefferson, Lyon and Thomas counties. Abortion opponents lost all of those counties except Thomas.

In Jefferson County, the margin remained the same, with the pro- and anti-amendment totals declining by four votes each. Linda Buttron, the county clerk, blamed the change on things like ovals not being darkened and “the challenges of hand counting ballots.”

In Lyon County, the anti-amendment group lost a vote. County Clerk and Election Officer Tammy Vopat said she wasn’t sure the reason. But she noted: “You have to factor in human error.”

Johnson County, the most populous in Kansas, faced the biggest recounting challenge because it had the most ballots. It pulled in workers from different departments to help. The sorting process took so long that the actual counting didn’t begin until Thursday afternoon.

“This is almost like doing an Ironman triathlon and having to add on another marathon at the end,” said Fred Sherman, the county’s Election Commissioner. “So it is quite a gargantuan process.”

<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2022/8/1661035438136.png" alt="Vote recount in Johnson County -photo courtesy KCTV" />
 <figcaption>Vote recount in Johnson County -photo courtesy KCTV</figcaption>
 </figure>OLATHE, Kan. (AP) — A decisive&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/2022-primary-elections-kansas-abortion-b6d62a852c2ce4617f2c03589fbb523e">statewide vote</a>&nbsp;in favor of abortion rights in traditionally conservative Kansas was confirmed with a partial hand recount, with fewer than 100 votes changing after the last county reported results Sunday.Nine of the state’s 105 counties recounted their votes at the request of Melissa Leavitt, who has pushed for tighter election laws. A longtime anti-abortion activist, Mark Gietzen, is covering most of the costs. Gietzen acknowledged in an interview that it was unlikely to change the outcome.A no vote in the referendum signaled a desire to keep existing abortion protections and a yes vote was for allowing the Legislature to tighten restrictions or ban abortion. After the recounts, “no” votes lost 87 votes and “yes” gained 6 votes.Eight of the counties&nbsp;<a href="https://apnews.com/article/abortion-2022-midterm-elections-health-election-recounts-constitutions-f4062be36f3d72ca6e8aef5585324fdb">reported their results</a>&nbsp;by the state's Saturday deadline, but Sedgwick County delayed releasing its final count until Sunday because spokeswoman Nicole Gibbs said some of the ballots weren't separated into the correct precincts during the initial recount and had to be resorted Saturday. She said the number of votes cast overall didn't change.A larger than expected turnout of voters on Aug. 2 rejected a ballot measure that would have removed protections for abortion rights from the Kansas Constitution and given to the Legislature the right to further restrict or ban abortion. It failed by 18 percentage points, or 165,000 votes statewide.The vote drew broad attention because it was the first state referendum on abortion since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June.Gietzen, of Wichita, and Leavitt, of Colby, in far northwestern Kansas, have both suggested there might have been problems without pointing to many examples.Recounts increasingly are tools to encourage supporters of a candidate or cause to believe an election was stolen rather than lost. A wave of candidates who have echoed former President Donald Trump’s lie that the 2020 election was rigged have called for recounts after losing their own Republican primaries.Kansas law requires a recount if those who ask for it prove they can cover the counties’ costs. The counties pay only if the outcome changes.Leavitt and Gietzen provided credit cards to pay for the nearly $120,000 cost, according to the secretary of state’s office. Leavitt has an online fundraising page. Gietzen also said he is getting donations from a network built over three decades in the anti-abortion movement.Gietzen said Sunday he doesn’t accept the results of the Sedgwick County recount because of the discrepancy about the way the ballots were sorted and because some of the recount happened Saturday without outside observers present to watch.“We still don't know what happened in Sedgwick County. I won't pay for Sedgwick County,” he said.He said he’s also concerned about the results statewide because of a report out of Cherokee county in southeast Kansas about the results of one county election being transposed between two candidates when the results were transferred on a thumb drive from one voting machine to a tabulating machine.Gietzen said he plans to file a lawsuit Monday seeking a full statewide recall.Gietzen said he won’t publicly report the names of private donors helping him finance the recount, even though a state ethics official says it’s required. Gietzen, who leads a small GOP group, the Kansas Republican Assembly, argues that he’s not campaigning for the anti-abortion measure but is instead promoting election integrity.Votes were recounted in Douglas County, home to the University of Kansas’ main campus; Johnson County, in suburban Kansas City; Sedgwick County, home to Wichita, Shawnee County, home to Topeka; and Crawford, Harvey, Jefferson, Lyon and Thomas counties. Abortion opponents lost all of those counties except Thomas.In Jefferson County, the margin remained the same, with the pro- and anti-amendment totals declining by four votes each. Linda Buttron, the county clerk, blamed the change on things like ovals not being darkened and “the challenges of hand counting ballots.”In Lyon County, the anti-amendment group lost a vote. County Clerk and Election Officer Tammy Vopat said she wasn’t sure the reason. But she noted: “You have to factor in human error.”Johnson County, the most populous in Kansas, faced the biggest recounting challenge because it had the most ballots. It pulled in workers from different departments to help. The sorting process took so long that the actual counting didn’t begin until Thursday afternoon.“This is almost like doing an Ironman triathlon and having to add on another marathon at the end,” said Fred Sherman, the county’s Election Commissioner. “So it is quite a gargantuan process.”

Election 2022