Kansas supreme court rules state constitution does not provide the right to vote
Kansas supreme court rules state constitution does not provide the right to vote
Narrow decision says lower court failed to identify ‘fundamental right to vote’, drawing fiery dissent from three of seven justices
In a bizarre mixed ruling combining several challenges to a 2021 election law, Kansas’s supreme court has ruled that its residents have no right to vote enshrined in the state’s constitution.
The opinion centering on a ballot signature-verification measure elicited fiery dissent from three of the court’s seven justices. But the majority held that the court failed to identify a “fundamental right to vote” within the state.
The measure in question requires election officials to match the signatures on advance mail ballots to a person’s voter registration record. The state supreme court reversed a lower court’s dismissal of a lawsuit that challenged that. The majority of justices on the state supreme court then rejected arguments from voting rights groups that the measure violates state constitutional voting rights.
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Justice Eric Rosen, one of the three who dissented, wrote: “It staggers my imagination to conclude Kansas citizens have no fundamental right to vote under their state constitution.
“I cannot and will not condone this betrayal of our constitutional duty to safeguard the foundational rights of Kansans.”
From the Kansas constitution Article 5 Suffrage:
Every citizen of the United States who has attained the age of eighteen years and who resides in the voting area in which he or she seeks to vote shall be deemed a qualified elector
Yeah, there is more than just that but how voting works is consistent with the US constitution. This is just more conservative efforts to suppress the vote in a state that is already overwhelmingly conservative.
That line isn't about voting, it's about being qualified to be a Elector, sent to the Electoral College to actually elect the next US President. So, not exactly textual evidence that there is a right to vote enshrined in the Kansas Constitution. The next couple of sections also kinda work against a universal right to vote in Kansas:
Disqualification to vote. The legislature may, by law, exclude persons from voting because of commitment to a jail or penal institution. No person convicted of a felony under the laws of any state or of the United States, unless pardoned or restored to his civil rights, shall be qualified to vote.
This shows that the legislature does have some power to remove a person's ability to vote under Kansas law. Granted, there seems to be an assumption implicit in this that people have a right to vote, so long as it's not been removed. But then we get to:
Proof of right to vote. The legislature shall provide by law for proper proofs of the right of suffrage.
That, right there, is probably doing a lot of heavy lifting for this law. The legislature has the power to provide "proper proofs" for the right to vote. So, it would seem that the Kansas Constitution is setting the legislature up to gatekeep voting, based on "proper proofs". That could well be the signature verification.
This looks like one of those cases where being a country of written laws can lead to weird outcomes. Yes, the right to vote should be universal. But, if the law, as written, doesn't say that, then that's not really the law.
Regardless of how the state constitution does their wordsmithing, don't the 15th, 19th, 24th, and 26th amendments of the federal constitution, in combination, essentially grant all Kansans over 18 the right to vote (aside from restricted groups)? I could possibly see the state blocking certain people from state and local elections, or anything within their jurisdiction, but wouldn't the state have zero say about federal elections?
This looks like one of those cases where being a country of written laws can lead to weird outcomes. Yes, the right to vote should be universal. But, if the law, as written, doesn’t say that, then that’s not really the law.
Without looking deeper I all but guarantee that these are relics of Jim Crow or earlier. They are a disgusting stain on our country, but not nearly as disgusting as those who would try to leverage them in the modern era for the sake of dragging us back to that era.
While it looks like I pulled the wrong sentence out of the section by forgetting electors was for the electoral college, there are a couple things to add.
The US constitution does include the right to vote and the state constitution builds upon that. The state level clause about exclusions is only necessary if the right to vote exists in the first place. So saying the state constitution doesn't repeat a right from the US constitution is stupid on its face.
Second, the nitpicking sbout how to verify someone would still be an issue even if voting was explicitly stated as a right in the state constitution since it is a limitation on that right like age.
Conservatives are just desperate for a nice simple monarchy.
On reddit, I got banned in the conservative sub because I agreed with someone arguing that the country should just go with a monarchy. I said after Hillary wins she should adopt AOC to take over when she dies. Do you not think about the power your giving people? What if it's someone you don't like?
These people are fascists. They would not be fascists if they ever believed for a moment that they wouldn't be part of the "in" group.
Of course anyone who knows anything about history knows how foolish this is.
Doesn't matter. The U.S. Constitution guarentees a Republic, forces the states to enforce the Republic at all levels and grants the right to vote. They can't deny a thing.
Totally, they're not saying they're going to deny it they're saying they get to keep their unnecessary hurdles, similarly shitty behavior still.
The federal one does, and it applies to all states, so... yeah.
No taxation without representation.
Wait, you’re getting representation? My congresspeople don’t represent or work for their constituents much at all; they’re bought and paid for.
I'm in Texas in one of the dense blue islands in a sparsely populated sea of red, so no, I'm not represented either.
Vote harderer, maybe the harderest you’ve ever voted, and make a difference. /s
Voted so hard the whole place caught on fire.
Don’t forget to vote with a brick. Make sure the brick is visible to the poll workers for additional democracy. /s
Edit: I’m not advocating for violence. I reserve the right to change my mind as circumstances change.
Why would Republicans care about the Constitution? UNLESS they're Defending a School Shooter!