Volume 78, Number 7 | August 2026 |  | Be Vote Ready This Fall!
Voting Confusion? Get Info for November!
We are back on Saturday, September 12th to hear from local organizations ready to help answer your questions about voting this November. Did you know there is ANOTHER constitutional amendment on the ballot in November?! Find out the details regarding the Kansas Citizenship Voting Requirement amendment, as well as ways you can help protect and exercise your right to vote. We want you and your community to be vote ready!
Saturday, September 12 at 9:30 am (doors open at 9:00 am)
at Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church
9400 Pflumm Rd.
Lenexa, KS 66215
Key election dates coming up:
October 13 - Deadline to register to vote or update your voter registration address or name for the General Election.
November 3 - Election Day
Now a great time to share information with your friends and neighbors, or invite them to become a member! More information about how to join or renew your membership is available below. You can download our Calls to Action sheet below for more ideas on getting your friends and neighbors involved in voting. Thanks for being a part of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County! |
Olathe Meet & Greet
Interested in learning more about the candidates on your ballot? Join us for a meet and greet with the candidates. You'll have the opportunity to introduce yourself, ask questions, and learn more about their stances on the issues that are important to you.
Getting Oriented to the League
Whether you are an existing, new, or prospective member of the League of Women Voters of Johnson County, KS, please join us for an informative one-hour session about the history of our chapter and the current volunteer opportunities.
Check the Events Calendar to see or register for all upcoming events!
| Here we go again. For everyone in the United States, the November 2026 state and national races may be as consequential as any such race in recent memory. But for Kansans, our ballots will include a second 2026 proposal to amend the Kansas Constitution. The Legislature’s initial attempt at constitutional control failed in August, when Legislators badly underestimated the voters’ ability to see through a manufactured, sideways shot at their goal, which appears to be a Constitution under virtual Legislative control. The Kansas League of Women Voters has taken a position in opposition to this amendment, and the League of Women Voters of Johnson County has concurred in that opposition.
The text of the Legislature’s proposed amendment to Kansas Constitution Article 5, Section 1 adds or deletes only a few phrases or words. The changes just seem unnecessary at first glance. But, you may ask, if they are as insignificant as they look, why does the Legislature deem them so important as to demand the extreme remedy of amending the Constitution?
In fact, this new proposal is just as important and dangerous as the failed proposal was. But this one involves a clear and present danger to our right to vote. If you are a fan of classical literature, or one who understands “computer-ese”, or who one who recently went to the movies, please hear this: the newly proposed amendment is a “Trojan horse.” For convenience, let us agree that a Trojan horse is anything that looks innocent and appealing; but, once accepted, it has the power to harm you.
1. The proposed amendment deletes the words “his or her” throughout Article 5, Section 1 and replaces them with “such person.” Could that be a signal that this Legislature suddenly wants to accommodate voters who prefer such things as genderless descriptive pronouns? Given this Legislature’s track record of drafting statutes and overriding vetoes, does that seem likely? Or is this a shameless piece of ballot candy, meant to be so attractive to some voters that they will just applaud and vote “yes”-- without really thinking about the consequences of the rest of the proposal? Classic Trojan horse? You decide.
2. Article 5, Section 1 starts with treating U.S. citizenship as a default, along with age and residency. How does that work? Everyone who invokes the default definition is deemed to be a qualified elector. So, when you register to vote, you must swear or affirm that you are entitled-- by U.S. citizenship and age-- to be a qualified elector of the place where you reside in Kansas. And you must swear or affirm in writing that you are telling the truth about everything on the form; and you understand that lying on the form is a felony. Successfully completing the form under threat of being prosecuted for a felony is sufficient to show that you are “deemed to be a qualified elector” in Kansas. You are then free to appear at the polling place that matches your address and present a driver’s license or other accepted form of ID matching the information on your registration. That’s it.
However, the wording in the proposed amendment changes the rules from default entitlement to entitling only those who meet the three criteria. “No person shall be deemed a qualified elector unless such person: (1) Is a citizen of the United States; (2) has attained the age of eighteen years; and (3) except as provided in subsection (b) or (c), resides in the voting area in which such person seeks to vote. [(Subsections (b) and (c) are divisions of the one large paragraph which is now Section 1.]
That is a small change in wording, but it sets in place the Legislative opportunity to demand proof of the eligibility required to register to vote. The amendment would lay the groundwork for requirements that make it difficult or too stressful or too expensive for many who want to vote. And such requirements would no longer be hampered by the need to comply with Section 1’s constitutional protection.
As you consider this amendment, permit me to impose a second metaphor. The phrase “letting the camel get its nose into the tent” applies. It is the old political warning. Allowing a small, seemingly harmless, piece of bad legislation to pass can soon lead to pushing in more significant erosions of our civil rights.
Alleen VanBebber
LWV JoCo President
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This Month, you'll find reports for:
Johnson County Commission
Commission on Aging
Mental Health Advisory Board
Library Board
Blue Valley School Board
Shawnee Mission School Board
Overland Park City Council
| | | Are you interested in learning more about how County government works?
We are looking for one or two additional observers for the Johnson County Board of County Commissioners. This board meets once a week, on Thursday mornings, and the meetings can be viewed in person at the County offices in Olathe, or online as they are happening, or later. So much of what we care about as residents of Johnson County is affected by the discussions and decisions of this board, such as property tax levels and processes, funding for emergency and mental health services, and infrastructure that makes everything work. We currently have one very dedicated observer for this Board, and she would love some company! If you are interested, contact Eileen at observercorps@lvwjoco.org to learn more. No obligation; just information. | _________________________________
| The Hospitality Team Needs Your Help!
The Hospitality Team would very much like to have one more volunteer to help us set up some refreshments before our League’s monthly meetings on Saturday. There are only 9 meetings annually and the team takes turns with them. We also get to socialize with each other and with the members/guests who come, so it’s fun and an easy thing to do.
If you are interested or have any questions, please send an email to Hospitality@lwvjoco.org and include your name and preferred contact information.
REMINDER: It is the responsibility of league members who are *not* on the team to bring some small breakfast “treat” to share (if they can do so). It can be baked goods, bought goods, fruit, cheese and crackers, or whatever. Just something to be enjoyed by the membership and guests.
| Important Information about Annual League Membership Dues
We welcome new members to our chapter. The suggested annual League membership fee is $75, but a minimum of $20 may be paid to fit your circumstances. Please go to www.lwv.org. This is the national league's website, which processes all dues. You may renew your annual membership the same way. Renewing members receive email reminder notices 30 and 60 days before their membership expires. At any time, you can check the national site to access your account or create one if you are not yet a League member.
If you need assistance to establish or renew your membership, or just don't feel comfortable with the online process, please come to the check-in table at Saturday meetings, and we will be happy to assist you.
To help us succeed, donations to our Johnson County chapter are most welcome and appreciated in addition to membership fees. Donations in any amount may be made on our website, www.lwvjoco.org. Please look for the donate button.
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