President’s Perspective: April 2026

Greetings and Happy April,

I hope you enjoyed celebrating in some way the Women History Month in March. It is so enriching to know how much women have contributed and continue to contribute in this state, country and world.  Thank you for  your contribution!

It goes without saying that legislative bills passed by the Election committee continue to meet the goals of the committee and its leadership rather than the constituents.  The League continues to voice our position against voter suppression bills! 

It is expected that many legislators will begin election campaigning efforts soon.  At the voting booth is where constituents can make a difference. 

There will be a constitutional amendment vote in August on whether the merit system for the Supreme Court should be changed.  The LWVK, which is comprised of all of the local leagues, including the League of Topeka and Shawnee County has taken the position to vote No, thus retaining the current merit system.  Palm cards will be available soon supporting this position.  If you are interested in receiving cards to educate others, please reach out to our board members in late April.

Legislative focus

I  continue to summarize bills introduced and provide updates as currently known by the  LWVTSC below:

HB 2437 – This bill proposes to expand the list of data sources that can be used to remove people from voter registration rolls. It would need careful monitoring to ensure people are not improperly removed and that electors data is not improperly shared with unauthorized or unknown users. passed

HB 2438 – This bill limits the ways people can register online to vote. This bill would target the dismantling of websites that have been vetted to seek registration of voters for years and have been more reliable than even the Secretary of State website, which has gone down and does not always provide effective data.  Most importantly, this bill sets up a monopoly which forces the funneling of people interested in registering, and could promote a system shutdown, limiting the people’s access during critical election windows. amended to remove ksvotes ban, still problematic for issues with federal compliance re rejecting federal voter reg forms

HB 2447 – This bill institutes a presidential preference primary beginning in March 2028. It could add additional costs and is simply an ineffective proposal.

HB 2448 – This bill appears to require citizenship status to be listed on KS driver’s licenses. Status could become outdated since licenses are valid for 6 years. Also, the passage of this bill could be dangerous in racial profiling which is always an ongoing concern for our communities of color. This state has worked diligently to minimize racial profiling only to have this committee try to reinstate the practice.  We appear to be going in reverse of enhancing voting rights!

HB 2451 – This bill appears to prohibit use of state and local government assets to advocate for or against ballot questions. It could limit the flow of information to voters. This is significant as voters have a right to be informed voters and this can only be done through open access rather than imposing restrictions.

HB 2452 – This bill appears to move local elections to even-numbered years. It would lead to excessively long ballots with local elections at the end and subject to voter fatigue.  It also would significantly enhance confusion for voters thus jeopardizing the ability to seek or become informed on voting issues.

Hb2453- Change Election Year – hearing 3/17

HB 2493 – This bill would require a person delivering an advance voting ballot to be a qualified elector and to put their driver’s license number on the ballot envelope. It limits who can transport ballots; and a person’s driver’s license number is unnecessary. This is significant overreach that can only lead to voter suppression and strips the freedom from advance voters who have chosen to have others deliver their ballots.  The current process is significant enough to aid in the advance ballot process without bogging the process down administratively and for Kansas voters.

HB 2494 – This bill allows candidates in a nonpartisan election to add their party or political affiliation to their name on the ballot. This bill has no positive added value except to a political party rather than to the people of Kansas.  Part of the escalated issues and conflict now on election bills introduced by the Election Committee this year is because of a partial party focus rather than focusing on the desires of Kansas residents overall. It goes without saying that this bill compromises the nonpartisan nature of local elections.

HCR 5021 – This bill proposes to amend the Kansas Constitution to require a photo ID issued by the state or federal government to vote. This bill is not necessary given the current requirements for voting and is also another strategy for adding insult to injury.  Enough!

The LWVTSC has aligned with other local organizations to collectively push back against voter suppression.  Please join us  by contacting your legislator and voicing your opinion verbally or in writing.  Encouraging others to do so will certainly help.  Thank you in advance.

Tuesday Topics

Many thanks to our March speaker, Carol Morgan, President of the Topeka Audubon Society.  She provided  an exceptional presentation filled with education on our small and large feathered species.  It was so obvious that she spends a great deal of time seeking and observing our native and visiting birds and it was exciting to hear the statistics of the various species we have nationally, statewide, and locally.

Young Adults Advocacy Initiative

We have received information from an organization that can possibly help us through reimbursed funding next year.  We are hoping that an injection of funds to help kick off this initiative will be critical to those interested in restructuring our new initiative – Young adult legislative advocacy.  If this is a passion for you, we need you. If you have skills or hobbies that include mentoring, teaching, debate, public speaking, research, legislative advocacy, social media and/ or tech marketing, this committee is for you!  This role is very important in including our young adults in civic engagement while promoting the work of our organization.

Our lifeblood – you!

Our calls are underway to reach out to our our members.  If you haven’t renewed yet, please consider doing so.  If you are waiting to hear from us, have no fear, you are on our list and we will be calling you soon.  You are important to our organization!!   If you know anyone who would be a great fit for our organization, please forward them our contact information. In addition, we continue to send invitation letters to non-partisan organizations and individuals encouraging them to join us in defending and strengthening democracy, definitely a task where we continue to need all hands on deck.

Unfortunately since the 60 day grace period ended after the new membership structure period of December 31, 2025 ended, we saw a drop in our membership!  We are down to 159!! We are supporting our student members who are interested in renewing by paying ½ of their membership as scholarships.  It is vital to our organization to keep our students engaged in democracy through our organization!

Welcome to our New members! Rebecca, Janice, Renee We are glad you have joined us and we look forward to working with you!

Thank you to our renewing members: We appreciate all you do! Let’s get busy!!

Legislative Action

Here is a link to the Election Committee site.  This is how you can help:

• Access this site weekly to determine progress
• Watch for our Legislative Action Alerts
• Sign up to be a testimonial writer
• Sign up to be an observer
• Sign up to be a member speaker
• If interested in signing up, please contact me at President@lwvtsc.org
• Watch or participate in committee meetings on www.kslegislature.org

League affiliate updates

The LWVK Council meeting will be held on April 25 from 10 am to 4 pm in Great Bend. All Kansas members are invited to attend.  Registration fee is $15.00.

The 2026 LWV National Convention will be held in Columbus, Ohio at the Hilton Columbus Downtown.  It starts on Thursday, June 25, 2026 and ends Sunday June 28, 2026.  Registration for the Convention is now open. Check the LWVUS website for details.  The convention is open to all members. The LWVUS is also offering limited scholarships for convention attendance in person and virtually.  See the attached link. https://events.lwv.org/event/Convention2026/scholarship

Consider joining our LWVUS  Unite & Rise 8.5 effort which aims to build a movement of 8.5 million individuals to unite and rise against the anti- democratic actions of this administration. Go to LWV.org to sign up!

NOW AVAILABLE: Civic Action Toolkit During ICE Activity and Related Blog With immigration enforcement activity increasing in our communities, it can create fear, confusion, and barriers to participation in civic life. Leagues can now review our civic action toolkit on the League Management Site to learn how to show up safely, lawfully, and in solidarity during ICE activity.

o LWVUS has a new blog post describing what’s happening with ICE and how to respond, including Know Your Rights information.

Voter Services

Unfortunately we have a vacancy for a voter services chair or co chair positions.  This position is vitally important to our organization as it is our outreach component in ensuring we connect with our voter base.  Through Voter Services, the League of Women Voters provides non-partisan information to our community on the structure and functions of government and the political parties and on voting procedures, election issues, and candidates. If you and a friend are interested, please let us know and we can provide details.

Let’s get to the POINT!

Feel free to continue to connect with our voter services team!  Things are gearing up and this  is a great time to get on board and express your interest in participating. Join them on the POINT application and get in on the experience!   They are outreaching to the community providing education on registration and voting.  Below is the link to volunteer for our events.

Volunteer

💜💜Your board members are always available to answer questions and help you move the League’s mission forward. Feel free to reach out!

Remember as we work to protect democracy, Teamwork makes the dream work!

Best regards,

Dr. Glenda Overstreet Vaughn, President

Community Connections

It is important for us to share and exchange events held by our collaborators.  We also extend an invite for our members to participate as interested. See partner events below.

1. The Topeka ( KS) Chapter of The Links, Incorporated hosts its Third Annual Mother’s Day Brunch on Saturday, May 9, 2026 from 10:00 A.M.-1:00 P.M. at the Townsite Tower Ballroom, 535 S. Kansas Avenue, Topeka,, KS, Tickets $75. Www.topekalinksinc.org or call 785-845-1099.  Wear your Crown!!  Save the Date.
2. Many thanks to our advocacy partners, Loud Light and ACLU for uniting in legislative testimony against the voter suppression bills.  The LWVK and LWVTSC have been diligently submitting testimony as have other local leagues in actively advocating against election bills this session that propose to strip or reduce voting access and rights. Updates on how you can help are shared in Action Alerts.

Remember: If you have a community group interested in learning about the recent proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution, which eliminates the merit selection of Supreme Court Justices, please reach out to the League and we will connect you with a resource to come make presentations to your group(s).

Legislative Session Resource

I encourage you to contact members of the Shawnee County legislative delegation, by phone or email, regarding proposed or passed legislation. Included below is their Statehouse contact information.

• Sen. Brenda Dietrich  Room #223-E  785.296.7648Brenda.Dietrich@senate.ks.gov
• Sen. Rick Kloos  Room # 418-E  785.296.7645Rick.Kloos@senate.ks.gov
• Sen. Patrick Schmidt Room #135-E  785.296-7372 Patrick.Schmidt@senate.ks.gov
• Sen. Kenny Titus Room #124-E  785.296.7656Kenny.Titus@senate.ks.gov
• Rep. John Alcala Room #173-W  785.296-7371 John.Alcala@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Jesse Borjon Room #512-N  785.296.7374Jesse.borjon@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Ken Corbett Room #187-N  785.296-7679 ken.corbet@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Kirk Haskins Room #43-S  785.296.7673Kirk.Haskins@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Kyle McNorton Room #561-W  785.296.7460Kyle.McNorton@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Tobias Schlingensiepen    785.296.7669 Room #174-W    Tobias.Schlingensiepen@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Alexis Simmons Room #43-S  785.296.7632Alexis.Simmons@house.ks.gov
• Rep. Virgil Weigel Room #451-S  785.296.7104virgil.weigel@house.ks.gov

Furthermore, you may access the Kansas Legislative website at http://kslegislature.gov to review bill status and content, house and senate calendars and committee schedules.  Through this website you may listen to or via video streaming follow committee hearings and General Session proceedings. 

An additional resource is the State Library.  You may access their services in the following ways:

• Phone:800-432-3919 or 785-296-2149
• Legislative Hotline: 800-432-3924
• Email: infodesk@ks.gov
• Download the Ask a Librarian app to your mobile device.