Why did the League of Women Voters stop registration drives? Ask the Kansas Legislature

Did you notice on Sept. 28, National Voter Registration Day, that you didn’t see the League of Women Voters doing what we normally do — registering voters?

Did you notice that while our 101-year-old League was sharing our centennial traveling exhibit at the Kansas State Fair that we weren’t doing what we normally do — registering voters?

When you attended back-to-school events in your towns and students returned to colleges across the state, did you notice League members weren’t there, doing what we normally do — registering voters?

The deadline to register to vote for this month’s general election was Oct. 12. What difference did it make that we weren’t out there, doing what we do?

To begin with, fewer new voters registered because we weren’t in our usual places. In 2018, a midterm election year and the most-recent “normal” year for which we have data, members of our nine leagues across Kansas registered more than 5,300 new voters.

More than 4,300 visitors stopped by our State Fair booth, and while many had the chance to learn about the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and about our group, we missed out on directly registering any of them to vote.

You might wonder: “Why didn’t the League do its work this year? What could possibly keep these more than 1,300-strong members, borne out of the suffrage movement, from registering voters at in-person events this summer?”

The short answer is the law.

In 2021, the Kansas Legislature passed HB 2183. This bill became law on July 1, despite the governor’s veto, and contains many provisions related to elections. The one that has kept us from our core work of registering voters makes it a felony to represent oneself as an election official, or to knowingly “engage in conduct that gives the appearance of being an election official; or engaging in conduct that would cause another person to believe a person engaging in such conduct is an election official.”

The League of Women Voters of Kansas felt this was very broad, and we were concerned for our members’ personal safety at in-person events, where we often work side-by-side with county election offices. Out of that concern, we halted all in-person voter registration events July 1 and asked the court system to provide clarity for us.

Since most in-person events, where we usually registered voters, were canceled in 2020, we were making big plans for 2021. Although the odd-numbered, local city and school board elections in Kansas garner smaller voter turnout, the League was preparing to safely attend street fairs, farmers markets, and county fairs near you all summer. Until July 1.

We’ll never know exactly how many people didn’t get the chance to register to vote this year, but the fact that some people didn’t have the opportunity simply because we weren’t doing our normal business should be concerning.

While waiting to gain legal clarity on this issue, we have heard many people in our community wonder why we would take this drastic measure. Why would we stop doing the activity that our foremothers fought for so passionately? How is that honoring their hunger strikes and marches, their sacrifice and suffering? What about getting in the “good trouble” that the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis compels all voting rights activists toward?

We believe that bringing attention to unjust laws is exactly the kind of activity our founders would support. Holding our elected officials accountable for anti-voting laws is one way to live out the League’s mission of “empowering voters and defending democracy.”

Despite not being able to register voters directly, our members across the state have been doing amazing work. They have held candidate forums, spoken to high school seniors about the history of voting and why they should care, and prepared for the upcoming legislative session. We will be watching closely, and advocating when needed, to ensure legislation is passed that protects all citizens’ freedom to vote.

So the next time you don’t see the League of Women Voters registering new voters at an event near you, think about the importance of the work for all communities across the state.

We believe this is but a temporary pause on the voter registration work we have been doing for more than 100 years, and we look forward to getting back to it as soon as possible. In the meantime, find out if your community has a local league (www.lwvk.org) and contact them to see how you can help. All Kansans are welcome to join us as we protect our freedom to vote by empowering voters and defending democracy.