Safe at home? Missouri law fails to safeguard some abuse survivors who register to vote

The Safe at Home program — especially for registered voters — lacks a basic safeguard provided in many other states, including Kansas: Complete exclusion from public voter data. Furthermore, if a person registered to vote before enrolling in Missouri’s program, their information isn’t scrubbed once they do.

In Kansas, the share of registered Democrats grew from about 25% in January 2017 to 27% of registered voters by September 2020, or about 62,000 voters, The Beacon found. In that same period, the Republican share of the electorate remained at about 45%.

When Darla Wilkerson went to absentee vote in person for the upcoming election, she noticed a large sign on the floor in the doorway reminding everyone to socially distance and wear their masks.  But the sign was difficult for voters with disabilities, like limited vision, to maneuver around, impeding the accessibility of the polling site. […]

In Kansas and Missouri, legal name changes and gender marker alterations can be long, tedious and costly processes, discouraging many trans and nonbinary voters from casting a ballot and barring the most financially disadvantaged from participating in elections altogether.

Voter registration among 18- to 24-year-olds is up in many states across the country, according to a report from the Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement at Tufts University. This trend runs true in Kansas, where as of the end of September, voter registration among Kansans ages 18-24 was up 28% from November 2016.

More than 30,000 registered voters within the Kansas City, Missouri, election jurisdiction are classified as inactive voters — otherwise registered voters who the local election authority was unable to locate or get in contact with before Election Day.

We know these are tough times — the country is still experiencing the raging COVID-19 pandemic, an economic recession and continuing protests against injustice. And in two weeks, it’ll be Election Day, where millions will cast their votes for president and a slew of other statewide and local races. The lead-up to Election Day has […]

The poll worker shortage in the Kansas City area was more critical in the first elections after governor-issued states of emergency in each state. With fewer poll workers, some local election boards had to close polling sites, leaving voters confused. But in the weeks ahead of the general election, some election boards across the metro are seeing a different situation unfold.

With just weeks to go until Election Day, Kansans voting by mail will be able to deliver their ballots at designated ballot drop box locations in their county, providing another option to ensure ballots are received on time.