Category: Election 2018

Judge candidates to appear at forum July 18 at KCKCC

Business West, along with Kansas City Kansas Community College, will co-sponsor a Candidates’ Forum starting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, July 18, in the Upper Jewell building at the Kansas City Kansas Community College 7250 State Ave.

Democratic candidates for District Judge who plan to attend are Mike Nichols, Tony Martinez and Jane Sieve Wilson.

Panelists who will ask the candidates questions will be Mary Rupert of the Wyandotte Daily Online, Jim Echols of Renaissance Management and Edgar Galicia of the Central Avenue Betterment Association.

Murrel Bland of Business West will be the moderator.

It’s easy to vote in upcoming Kansas primaries, but register now

by Celia Llopis-Jepsen, Kansas News Service

The deadline to register before the Aug. 7 primaries is Tuesday, July 17. Fear not, registering is easy.

So is finding your polling location, or voting in advance. Read on.

Got a criminal record? Seriously, read on.

First, check if you’re already registered and have a party affiliation

All you need is your birth date, county of residence and full name to check online at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do.

Easy, right?

You’ll also see whether you have declared any party affiliation. Your address needs to be current, so pay attention to that detail. Even if you just moved within your apartment building or block.

You need a party affiliation to vote in the primary. You can still pick Republican or Democrat by re-registering — or you can declare at the polls. But if you already have one and were hoping to switch, it’s too late to do so for the primary.

Not registered yet or want to update your registration?

Online, mail and in-person options will all work in time for the July 17 deadline. You don’t need to include copies of citizenship documents, such as a passport or birth certificate, as was the case in the past.

In person: Visit your county election office, which is easy to find at http://www.wycovotes.org/. If you happen to be at your local DMV to get or renew your driver’s license, you can do it there, too.

Online: Register online using the state form on the Kansas Secretary of State’s website at https://www.kdor.ks.gov/Apps/VoterReg/Default.aspx. Some civic groups have been recommending filling out the federal form on the third-party website KSvotes.org instead, for reasons related to a protracted and convoluted legal showdown between the League of Women Voters and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach. (It’s a long story.) Either form will get you fully registered to vote in local, state and federal elections. Just remember to leave enough time for the internet to do its magic by midnight July 17.

By mail: You can print a state form at http://www.kssos.org/forms/elections/voterregistration.pdf or federal form at https://www.eac.gov/voters/national-mail-voter-registration-form/ and send it by good old snail mail. As long as it is postmarked July 17 or earlier, it counts.

Vote in advance or from home if you want

In person: You can vote at your county election office at 850 State Ave. before noon Aug. 6 during the week leading up to the election. Voting starts earlier in some counties. The evening of July 17 the Secretary of State’s Office will post those counties and their extended dates at http://www.kssos.org/, and information will be posted at http://www.wycovotes.org/.

By mail: Request a ballot from your county election office, http://www.wycovotes.org/, by July 31. Fill it out in your kitchen or wherever and mail it back postmarked no later than election day. As long as it reaches the county by the Friday after the election, it will be counted.

Or, heck, go to the polls on election day

Don’t forget you need to take ID to the polls in Kansas. Your driver’s license or concealed carry permit will work, among other things including http://www.gotvoterid.com/valid-photo-ids.html#idlist.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. on Aug. 7. Check your voting location at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do.

But who’s even running?

Your online registration record at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do will show you the districts you live in. For example, “State Board of Education 4” and “Kansas Representative 46.” You can see who’s running in State Board of Education District 4 or any other position by pulling up the complete candidate list at http://www.kssos.org/elections/elections_upcoming_candidate.asp.

What to make of the candidates? You’ll have to do your own homework on that.

If you have a criminal record

If you’ve been convicted of a misdemeanor, you can vote. If you’ve been convicted of a felony, you can vote, too, once you have completed any prison, probation and parole time you received.

You may need to re-register, so remember to check now at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/VoterView/RegistrantSearch.do whether you are registered.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.
See more at http://kcur.org/post/its-easy-vote-upcoming-kansas-primaries-register-now

Colyer, Kobach call for ending in-state tuition for undocumented students

by Stephan Bisaha, Kansas News Service

Some Republican gubernatorial candidates are calling for the end of in-state tuition for undocumented students at public universities in Kansas.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach wants undocumented students to pay the more expensive non-resident tuition rate. Governor Jeff Colyer expressed a similar view during a Republican forum Tuesday night held by KWCH and KMUW.

“I would happily sign that bill if it ever came to us,” Colyer said.

According to the Kansas Division of the Budget, that would raise about $2.3 million in tuition revenue.

But that figure comes with an asterisk — it assumes all undocumented students would stay at Kansas universities. Board of Regents President Blake Flanders says those students could be driven away.

“Some would say … they just won’t go as opposed to paying the higher rate,” Flanders said.

The non-resident rate is more than twice the in-state rate.

“It’s hard to image that any of these students would be able to afford the out-of-state rate because they’re not eligible for any financial assistance at all,” said Matt Casey, the director of government relations at the Board of Regents.

According to the Board of Regents, 670 undocumented students received in-state tuition in Kansas last fall. A 2004 Kansas law allowed “persons without lawful immigration status” to receive the reduced rate, as long as they attended a Kansas high school for at least three years and graduated from one.

As state funding for higher education has dwindled over the years, Kansas universities have relied on increased enrollment as a way of covering costs. For those universities, every additional student helps their budget, regardless of whether they are paying the in-state or non-resident rate.

“If you got room for another two students in the class and they’re paying an in-state rate, that’s better than them not attending,” Casey said.

The non-resident rate for tuition and fees for a semester as an undergraduate in Kansas can be as much as three time more expensive as the in-state rate. (Stephan Bisaha/KMUW. Source: Kansas Board of Regents)

Stephan Bisaha reports on education for KMUW in Wichita and the Kansas News Service, a collaboration of KMUW, Kansas Public Radio, KCUR and High Plains Public Radio covering health, education and politics. Follow him on @SteveBisaha. Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished at no cost with proper attribution and a link back to the original post.

See more at http://kcur.org/post/colyer-kobach-call-ending-state-tuition-undocumented-students