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Governor Laura Kelly vetoed two Republican-backed election bills on Friday.
House Bill 2332 and House Bill 2183, would have limited individuals from delivering 10 ballots during each election and the Governor, Secretary of State, or the courts would have been banned from changing election rules.
“Although Kansans have cast millions of ballots over the last decade, there remains no evidence of significant voter fraud in Kansas,” the governor said. “This bill is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist. It is designed to disenfranchise Kansans, making it difficult for them to participate in the democratic process, not to stop voter fraud.”
Davis Hammet, president of Loud Light Action, is grateful for the Governor’s decision.
“The bills are based on misinformation and misunderstanding and have the potential to cause a chilling effect on democracy in Kansas. We’re grateful that Gov. Kelly vetoed the bills and call on legislators to protect Kansas voters by sustaining her vetoes,” he said.
House Majority Leader Tom Sawyer applauded the Governor’s decision.
“These election bills are designed to disproportionately harm elderly Kansans, college students, and members of the military trying to exercise their right to vote. Furthermore, they continue a dangerous trend of taking away powers from other elected officials,” Sawyer said.
Republican Senator Richard Hilderbrand is not happy about the Governor’s decision. He believes that the government should be proactive with securing elections.
“When you are trying to ensure election integrity it’s disappointing when the governor decides to veto,” the Senator said. “We are supposed to be proactive and if we see instances where there could be and we can do a better job of ensuring election integrity, then we should be doing that.”
Former President Donald Trump and other Republicans claimed that voter fraud is why he lost the presidential election in 2020. There is no evidence that there was any election interference.
Republicans all over the nation have introduced bills that restrict voters’ access to the polls.
Last month, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed a bill into law that restricts voting by mail. Georgia activists and Black executives have called for large corporations to speak out against the bill.
Republican Representative Blake Carpenter, chair of the House elections committee, says citizens should question the election process.
“I think our citizens are looking at these other states and really questioning the validity and the true worthiness of what occurred,” Carpenter said. “We need to do the best we can here in the state of Kansas to make sure that every time Republicans and Democrats can trust the results of our elections.”
