By NICK GOSNELL
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The NAACP, Hutch in Harmony and Natasha Russell-Iverson put together an event Saturday in Hutchinson for John Lewis Voter Advancement Day at the Chester I. Lewis Plaza. Russell-Iverson said there were four main actions the event was designed to support.
"Supporting the effort to get passed, the bill that will reinstate the Voting Rights Act, another is to raise awareness around supporting the bill that will advance the Voting Rights Act in this country, another is to support the ratification of the District of Columbia for statehood," Russell-Iverson said. "They deserve, the people who live there deserve the ability to be able to vote in these national elections. The fourth is to remove the Civil War-era filibuster that is currently preventing, at our federal level, preventing the ability of the people to have our voting rights restored."
Democratic State Rep. Jason Probst drove straight back from the close of the session in Topeka early Saturday morning to speak to the group Saturday afternoon. He wanted them to know that elections matter.
"We saw a very dramatic change this year in the type of people that were elected," Probst said. "That results in a change in the type of legislation we see. There's been a nationwide effort, specifically on voting rights to try to suppress access to voting. I will say that what we saw in Kansas wasn't as bad as what we've seen in other states, it wasn't for lack of trying."
Probst explained the two election related bills that were just passed by the Republican-controlled legislature overriding the veto of Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly.
"There are a lot of third parties that are trying to mobilize people to vote early," Probst said. "One piece of legislation restricts that. It creates all sorts of reporting requirements. That part is not necessary. Neither of these bills were necessary. I should say that. The Secretary of State testified and he's a Republican. He testified that there were no issues with our elections in this state. He testified that he had no recommendations for changes in election laws, that what we have in Kansas works fine. Despite that, they still pushed forward these two measures. The other one is a little more onerous. It creates a lot of restrictions for helping people with advance ballots."
The new state law limits individuals from helping more than 10 people get their ballots in. Probst said the underlying effect is it creates new barriers.
Republicans argue that the federal measures for voting proposed, particularly H.R. 1, are unconstitutional, as the standards to vote are to be set by the states.