Show notes
Marilyn McCleod, Anne Calvert and Harry Bognich discuss concerns and activities of Leagues of Women Voters. They are interviewed by Radio Active Magazine regular Spencer Graves.
Marilyn is President of the League of Women Voters of Missouri. Anne is President of the League of Women Voters of Kansas City, Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri. Harry is President of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, Kansas. Harry discusses special elections scheduled for April 1 in Lenexa, Gardner, Edgerton, and Westwood,1 other Kansas elections this year including Overland Park Mayor, and about the League's concerns about voter suppression actions by leading state and federal officials.2 Anne discusses local elections scheduled for April 8 in Missouri.3 Marilyn describes the Missouri League's concerns about alleged voter suppression by leading elected officials in Missouri.4 Both Missouri and Kansas have optional primary elections August 8.5
Leagues of Women Voters have traditionally engaged in voter registration and education. They have opposed restrictions on voting that seem unwarranted by the prevalence of actual vote fraud by individual voters and seem more designed to suppress votes by humans more likely to vote for the opposition of the party in power, e.g., residents of areas known to have higher populations of Black and Brown humans. This includes purging names from voter registration lists on questionable grounds. It includes restrictive voter ID laws that are harder to meet for people with name changes like women or address changes like students who may move more frequently than older adults.
2025 elections in Kansas
Special elections are scheduled for April 1 in Lenexa, Gardner, Edgerton, and Westwood.1
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog is running for re-election. June 2 is the deadline to file to run against him. June 21 is the deadline for election officials to transmit absentee ballots to members of the uniformed services registered in Kansas but living away from their official home district and to other US citizens living overseas. July 15 is the deadline to register to vote or to update voter registration for the August 5 primary, if there is one. Advance voting begins sometime between July 16 and July 29, at the discretion of the local elections board. Similar deadlines apply for the general election November 4.6
2025 elections in Missouri
There are special elections in some Missouri jurisdictions April 8.3 Sample ballots for Missouri voters are available from the website of the Missouri Secretary of State.7 The website of the Kansas City Election Board offers a "sample ballot", but that includes all the races and issues for voters in both Kansas City and Jackson County, but no voter can vote in all those races.8 Vote411, a voter information website maintained by League volunteers, provides sample ballots and election information in some but not all cases. Anne Calvert noted that the Kansas City league was holding numerous forums with those events being recorded and posted to YouTube with information on their web site, lwvkc.org. Other sources for some candidates and ballot issues may include The Beacon (thebeaconnews.org) and Ballotpedia (ballotpedia.org).
Restrictions on voter ID, voter registration and absentee voting
The League has for years been fighting restrictions on voter IDs, voter registration, and voting. In 2011 the Kansas Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act was enacted and took effect in 2013. It was justified by claims of massive problems with people voting illegally, especially noncitizens. In 2016 the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of Steven Wayne Fish and others claiming that the Documentary Proof of Citizenship requirements of that act were unreasonable and inconsiste...
Marilyn is President of the League of Women Voters of Missouri. Anne is President of the League of Women Voters of Kansas City, Jackson, Clay and Platte Counties, Missouri. Harry is President of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, Kansas. Harry discusses special elections scheduled for April 1 in Lenexa, Gardner, Edgerton, and Westwood,1 other Kansas elections this year including Overland Park Mayor, and about the League's concerns about voter suppression actions by leading state and federal officials.2 Anne discusses local elections scheduled for April 8 in Missouri.3 Marilyn describes the Missouri League's concerns about alleged voter suppression by leading elected officials in Missouri.4 Both Missouri and Kansas have optional primary elections August 8.5
Leagues of Women Voters have traditionally engaged in voter registration and education. They have opposed restrictions on voting that seem unwarranted by the prevalence of actual vote fraud by individual voters and seem more designed to suppress votes by humans more likely to vote for the opposition of the party in power, e.g., residents of areas known to have higher populations of Black and Brown humans. This includes purging names from voter registration lists on questionable grounds. It includes restrictive voter ID laws that are harder to meet for people with name changes like women or address changes like students who may move more frequently than older adults.
2025 elections in Kansas
Special elections are scheduled for April 1 in Lenexa, Gardner, Edgerton, and Westwood.1
Overland Park Mayor Curt Skoog is running for re-election. June 2 is the deadline to file to run against him. June 21 is the deadline for election officials to transmit absentee ballots to members of the uniformed services registered in Kansas but living away from their official home district and to other US citizens living overseas. July 15 is the deadline to register to vote or to update voter registration for the August 5 primary, if there is one. Advance voting begins sometime between July 16 and July 29, at the discretion of the local elections board. Similar deadlines apply for the general election November 4.6
2025 elections in Missouri
There are special elections in some Missouri jurisdictions April 8.3 Sample ballots for Missouri voters are available from the website of the Missouri Secretary of State.7 The website of the Kansas City Election Board offers a "sample ballot", but that includes all the races and issues for voters in both Kansas City and Jackson County, but no voter can vote in all those races.8 Vote411, a voter information website maintained by League volunteers, provides sample ballots and election information in some but not all cases. Anne Calvert noted that the Kansas City league was holding numerous forums with those events being recorded and posted to YouTube with information on their web site, lwvkc.org. Other sources for some candidates and ballot issues may include The Beacon (thebeaconnews.org) and Ballotpedia (ballotpedia.org).
Restrictions on voter ID, voter registration and absentee voting
The League has for years been fighting restrictions on voter IDs, voter registration, and voting. In 2011 the Kansas Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act was enacted and took effect in 2013. It was justified by claims of massive problems with people voting illegally, especially noncitizens. In 2016 the American Civil Liberties Union filed suit on behalf of Steven Wayne Fish and others claiming that the Documentary Proof of Citizenship requirements of that act were unreasonable and inconsiste...