Carole Jordan, President
President’s Perspective
April 2023
I just realized there is no way to write about time without being incredibly trite. Time moves like a river, it flies, it vies with the speed of light, it moves right along. But here it is – the last two years have passed in a blur. Two years ago I was worrying about the annual meeting and starting a stint as LWVTSC president. Now I’m thinking about passing the gavel along to president-elect Mary Lou Davis.
Thank you, League members, for letting me serve as president. I’ve learned a lot, met great people, and enjoyed the opportunity. I believe wholeheartedly in our mission to empower voters and defend democracy, and I’m proud of what we do.
I’m writing my last column during March Madness, and boy is that appropriate. The Kansas Legislature continues to pass bills that reduce access to voting and affect gender issues and women’s personal health decisions. On the other hand, a three-person panel of judges on the Kansas Court of Appeals remanded a decision by a Shawnee County District Court judge who had dismissed the LWV challenge to voting and ballot handling laws passed in 2021 as being unconstitutional.
The judges said voting is a constitutional right and that the Legislature “must not, directly or indirectly, deny or abridge the constitutional rights of the citizens to vote or unnecessarily impede the exercise of that right.”
The state, led by AG Kobach, will appeal this ruling. We still have much work to do.
Join us at the Annual Meeting April 4.
