Month: September 2016

The ACLU of Kansas will hold a statewide telephone town hall Sept. 27 to inform Kansas residents about their voting rights in advance of election day.

The event will be at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 27, on National Voter Registration Day. In Kansas, the last day to register to vote before the general election is Oct. 18.

There may be some confusion on the part of voters this year about whether their registration is valid. Two cases are currently in court that could affect registration in Kansas. The ACLU has been challenging state laws requiring voters to provide documented proof of citizenship.

According to DeAnn Smith, director of communications for the ACLU of Kansas, the ACLU was in Shawnee County District Court Sept. 21 in a Kansas case challenging a dual voter registration system. There also is a lawsuit pending before the U.S. 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver that the ACLU won and that was appealed.

In July, Kansas issued a rule for voters who registered at motor vehicle offices without providing proof of citizenship that would count their votes for federal contests only, not for state and local contests. The ACLU sued, and a district court judge blocked the rule. Kansas was required to count the state and local votes in the primary.

“At this point this week, the decisions we won previously are still in effect for November,” Smith said. “We would hope to get favorable rulings in the coming days.”

The telephone town hall’s moderator will be former Kansas insurance commissioner Sandy Praeger. Panelists will be Marge Ahrens, state president of the League of Women Voters; Cheryl Brown Henderson of the Brown Foundation, whose parents were involved in the landmark case leading to desegregation of schools; and Doug Bonney, legal director for the ACLU of Kansas.

About 20,000 Kansas households will be invited to participate in the telephone town hall, according to the ACLU.

According to an ACLU spokesman, the laws passed since the last presidential election primarily hurt low-income communities, the young and old, and communities of color, and it is important for citizens to be informed in order to exercise their right to vote.

Bernadette Gray-Little will step down as chancellor of the University of Kansas in summer 2017, according to an announcement today.

She announced her plans to the Kansas Board of Regents recently and in a campus-wide email at KU.

“It has been an honor to lead the University of Kansas,” said Chancellor Gray-Little in a news release. She came to Lawrence in 2009 as a highly regarded administrator and researcher. “KU has always been a special place with terrific people and an instinctive spirit to change our world for the better. During the past seven years, we have made tremendous strides as a university and positioned KU for even greater achievements in the future. Leading this remarkable institution is a privilege I always will cherish, and I’m grateful to the entire KU community for believing in our mission.”

Chancellor Gray-Little said the timing of her decision makes good sense for the university.

“With many critical initiatives either completed or nearing completion – including a $1.6 billion Far Above campaign and our transformational Central District project – now is an ideal time for the University of Kansas to identify a new chancellor to guide the next chapter in the university’s history,” Chancellor Gray-Little said. “Additionally, by announcing my decision now, we give state and university leaders a full academic year to conduct the important work of recruiting the next chancellor without the need for an interim, which will ensure a smoother transition.”

The university, in conjunction with the Kansas Board of Regents, will announce details of the search process for Chancellor Gray-Little’s successor in the coming weeks.

“Chancellor Gray-Little has been a transformative figure for the University of Kansas and has ably guided the university during the past seven years,” said Zoe Newton, chair of the Kansas Board of Regents. “On behalf of the Board of Regents, I want to thank her for her service and leadership and wish her the very best.”