Kansas, your right to vote is fundamental. Don’t let Republicans make it harder | Opinion

The Kansas Court of Appeals last week reminded residents and lawmakers that voting is a fundamental right. The Republican-controlled Legislature needs to lay off attempts to erect barriers to voting.

It might seem obvious that voting is a fundamental right, but it isn’t, at least not in the United States. In some states it’s a privilege. In others it’s a run-of-the-mill right, not a fundamental one. There’s a difference.

A privilege is something that government and society grants to the people. It often is restricted to a favored few, but not always. Driving, for example, is a privilege. There’s nothing inherent in being human or being a member of a democracy that entitles one to drive a motor vehicle.

Back in 1789, the U.S. Constitution said little about who was eligible to vote. It largely left that up to the states, and that meant mostly only white, male property owners could cast a ballot. Voting was a privilege granted to a few.

After the Civil War, several constitutional amendments expanded who could vote and made voting more a right than a privilege. Congress, legislatures and the courts could still place restrictions on the right to vote. That is, more or less, how things stand today in much of the country.

But not in Kansas. The Court of Appeals concluded that the state constitution goes further. Voting in Kansas is a fundamental right. It’s on the same level as freedom of speech, religion and so on. Any rules that would limit a fundamental right must pass the highest level of demonstrable need and scrutiny. The government may not impinge on them except in extreme circumstances.

“There is no question that the right to vote is a fundamental right protected by the Kansas Constitution,” the court wrote. “The right to vote is the foundation of a representative government that derives its power from the people. All basic civil and political rights depend on the right to vote.”

The current case involved a bill passed in 2021 that required election officials to reject ballots with signature issues and made it a crime to deliver more than 10 advance ballots on behalf of other voters. Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, vetoed the bill, but the Republican supermajority in the Legislature overrode her.

The appeals court ruled that those changes run afoul of the strict scrutiny required whenever the Legislature wants to limit voting rights.

The court’s conclusion conforms to precedent. The Kansas Supreme Court has held voting rights sacrosanct for a century.

Fifty years ago, in a voting rights case, the top court wrote: “The right to vote in any election is a personal and individual right, to be exercised in a free and unimpaired manner, in accordance with our Constitution and laws. The right is pervasive of other basic civil and political rights, and is the bedrock of our free political system.”

Any appeal of the current case should receive a frosty reception in front of justices who honor precedent.

Lawmakers should heed the court’s warning. Pervasive myths among Republicans say that the the 2020 election was stolen from Donald Trump (but only that office) and that voter fraud runs rampant. Neither is true, but that hasn’t stopped Republicans from passing terrible laws to disenfranchise voters.

That runs contrary to what Kansans actually want. The ACLU of Kansas recently released a poll that found 70% of Kansans want elected officials to focus on making it easier to vote, not harder. That included almost half — 47% — of Republicans. Allowing curbside voting at polling locations and increasing the number of polling locations around the state are both highly popular.

The democratic process is enriched when diverse people participate. The more people who vote, the more likely the outcome of elections will reflect the genuine will of the people. In Kansas, voting isn’t a privilege. It’s a fundamental right. Cherish it.