Tag: kansas
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Kansans will vote on the first abortion-related measure on August 2 following SCOTUS ruling
On August 2, Kansans will decide on a constitutional amendment to state that nothing in the Kansas Constitution creates a right to abortion or requires government funding for abortion. It would also say that the legislature has the authority to pass laws regarding abortion. In 2019, the Kansas Supreme Court ruled that the Kansas Bill…
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Contested state legislative primaries down in Kansas House this year
Fifteen percent (38) of 125 possible contested state House primaries in Kansas this year are contested by multiple candidates. One-hundred and twenty-five state House seats are up for election this year. A primary is contested when more candidates file to run than there are nominations available, meaning at least one candidate must lose. The 38…
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Three candidates running in Republican primary for Kansas Attorney General
Kris Kobach, Tony Mattivi, and Kellie Warren are running in the August 2, 2022, Republican primary for Kansas attorney general. Incumbent Derek Schmidt (R) is running in the Republican primary for Kansas governor. Kobach served as the Kansas secretary of state from 2011 to 2019. Kobach ran unsuccessfully for Kansas governor in 2018, losing to…
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No Kansas’ U.S. House incumbents face primary challengers for the first time since 2012
The filing deadline for candidates running for Congress in Kansas this year was June 1, 2022. Nine candidates are running in Kansas’ four U.S. House districts, including four Democrats and five Republicans. That’s 2.25 candidates per district, down from 4.75 in 2020 and six in 2018. Here are some other highlights from this year’s filings:…
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Kansas governor announces start of unemployment insurance modernization effort
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly (D) announced June 2 that the Kansas Department of Labor (KDL) has started what it describes as its effort to modernize the state’s unemployment insurance system. Kelly said the project will take 26 months and cost roughly $48 million. The KDL previously announced April 5 that the state chose to contract…
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Kansas enacts legislative district boundaries after state supreme court approves them
Kansas enacted new legislative district boundaries on May 18 when the Kansas Supreme Court unanimously upheld the maps that Gov. Laura Kelly (D) signed into law on April 15. As specified in the state constitution, the state supreme court had to approve or reject the new boundaries within 10 days of Attorney General Derek Schmidt…
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Kansas Supreme Court overturns district court ruling, upholds state’s congressional district map
On May 18, the Kansas Supreme Court overturned a district court’s ruling that found that the state’s enacted congressional district boundaries were unconstitutional. In a two-page order, Justice Caleb Stegall wrote for the court, “A majority of the court holds that, on the record before us, plaintiffs have not prevailed on their claims that Substitute…
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Kansas District Court judge overturns that state’s new congressional district boundaries
Wyandotte County District Court Judge Bill Klapper struck down Kansas’ enacted congressional map on April 25 for violating the state constitution due to political and racial gerrymandering. Klapper’s ruling stated, “The Court has no difficulty finding, as a factual matter, that Ad Astra 2 is an intentional, effective pro-Republican gerrymander that systemically dilutes the votes…
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Kansas Department of Labor announces unemployment insurance modernization contract
The Kansas Department of Labor (KDL) announced on April 5 that the state chose Tata Consultancy Services to update the current IT system for processing unemployment insurance claims. The KDL said the project would take multiple years to complete, but the state had not released a timeline or budget as of April 5. Kansas launched…
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Kansas voters to decide whether to add sheriff elections to the state constitution
On April 1, the Kansas State Legislature voted to send a constitutional amendment to the November ballot that would require the election of county sheriffs in counties that had not abolished the office as of January 2022 and would provide that sheriffs may be recalled from office or removed by a writ of quo warranto…