John Hanna/AP Photo
Jessica Porter, communications chair for the Shawnee County Democratic Party, discusses a sign in Spanish urging voters to oppose a proposed amendment to the Kansas Constitution to allow legislators to further restrict or ban abortion, July 15, 2022, in Topeka, Kansas.
The first state to vote on abortion rights after the fall of Roe v. Wade is asking Kansans to cast their ballots in an August primary, an election that typically sees turnout that is about half the size of the electorate in the state’s November general elections.
But this isn’t your typical primary. In the run-up to tomorrow’s election, which will determine whether Kansas protects the right to abortion, younger voters—who are historically less likely to turn out for a primary—have been mobilizing to oppose a ballot initiative that, if passed, would allow the Republican-controlled Kansas legislature to further restrict abortion. Given that authority, their legislation could include a total ban on abortions, in a state where abortion is already heavily regulated.
According to mid-July polling from the pollster co/efficient, it’s likely to be a close race.
“I’ve been working in politics in Kansas for 18 years. I don’t think I’ve ever seen or felt anything quite like this,” said Ashley All, the spokesperson for Kansans for Constitutional Freedom, the main coalition opposing the ballot initiative. “I do think that people are really fired up and want to make a difference.” All said the organization has been averaging about 500 volunteers a week—up significantly from before the Dobbs decision.
Clarifying the language around the amendment has been a main concern for advocacy groups, as the ballot was “written to confuse” voters.
In tomorrow’s vote, Kansans are being asked whether to amend the state constitution to allow legislators “the right to pass laws to regulate abortion, including, but not limited to, in circumstances of pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, or when necessary to save the life of the mother,” the ballot measure reads. The amendment follows a 2019 state Supreme Court decision that ruled that the state constitution’s guarantee of “personal autonomy” includes the right to an abortion.
Coalitions of younger voters are at the forefront of the campaign to vote no, mobilizing their peers for what Rija Nazir, a rising senior at Wichita State University, called “one of the most important elections in our state.”
Nazir is the lead organizer for Vote Neigh, a Western-themed campaign focused on reaching young voters of color across Kansas through social media campaigns and voter engagement events, which culminated in a weekend of canvassing, rallies, and celebrations ahead of Election Day.
“That way, people who aren’t normally involved in elections are a lot more educated on this, especially because our state legislature purposely made it so people wouldn’t vote because Kansans don’t normally vote in August,” Nazir said. “And they don’t really know what’s in the amendment because the language is confusing in the first place. Our goal was to entertain people while still educating them.”
Clarifying the language around the amendment has been a main concern for advocacy groups, as the ballot was “written to confuse” voters, said Melody McCray-Miller, president of Kansas Birth Justice Action, which advocates for reproductive justice and health equity for Black, Latino, and Indigenous Kansans, who are disproportionately more likely to die in pregnancy and childbirth.
The advocacy group is posting on social media and having face-to-face conversations with the communities it serves to convince voters that their “no” vote matters, McCray-Miller said. (The Value Them Both Coalition, which favors the amendment, did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication.)
“I don’t think there’s any question that we’ve energized a base of people that probably would vote more in a general election than in a primary,” McCray-Miller said.
Anita Austin, program director at Loud Light, which has partnered with groups across the state to mobilize voters ages 18 to 35, said young voters constitute a significant share of the state’s potential electorate, but largely don’t turn out to vote. Austin said she thinks younger voters are more engaged in this election, though, because the ballot measure affects them personally.
“People like to say, ‘We need young people voting.’ But no one does things to get people to vote or make them feel included, so that’s what a lot of my work centers around,” said Donnavan Dillon, who works with Loud Light and is a rising sophomore at the University of Kansas. Dillon said he’s trying to stay vocal on social media and is asking his friends about their voting plans.
Holding the election in August, when many students are moving back to campus and changing addresses, might make it harder to vote, Nazir said. Many students also don’t realize they can register their college dorm or apartment as their voting address, Austin added, while transportation and access to polling places are also barriers to student turnout.
One additional hurdle these turnout efforts face is convincing Kansans that this primary is not restricted to registered party members—that unaffiliated voters can vote on the ballot amendment. That’s a message that the League of Women Voters of Kansas has been trying to share with Kansans, noted Jacqueline Lightcap, the chapter’s co-president.
Just a few days before Election Day, McCray-Miller said she was feeling hopeful about the primary, with community members energized to vote. Data as of July 28 shows a surge in early voter turnout compared to the last midterm primary in 2018.
But even if it isn’t enough to keep the state constitution as is, McCray-Miller said her advocacy work will only continue.
“The movement and the mobilization of people on this issue won’t end,” McCray-Miller said. “We would just have to continue the advocacy and let the legislators know that you cannot do this.”
