‼️ACTION ALERT‼️
As we wade into March, and ever further into the legislative session, we continue to see harmful bills advancing in the KSLeg. Among them are targeted attacks on voting rights, religious freedom, and public education.
MAKE TONIGHT COUNT! Ask five friends to join you in taking the two actions below & help stop these legislative attacks on Kansans.
VOTING RIGHTS
SB208, as amended, would ban all remote ballot boxes in the state of Kansas. Voting by dropping your ballot off at a remote ballot drop box is secure, and research shows that there is no evidence to suggest otherwise.
SB209 would abolish the current 3-day voter protection/grace period for returning mail ballots. Due to no fault of their own, thousands of Kansans' eligible votes would be thrown for no reason. The House Elections Committee is voting on SB 209 tomorrow, Tuesday, March 14th.
Both bills have received hearings in the House Elections Committee. The committee will be voting on SB209 tomorrow (3/14/23) and expected to take action on SB208 later this week. If these bills are voted out of committee they will head to the House floor where final action will be taken. If passed, they will end up on the governor's desk to be vetoed or signed into law.
Use our easy form to contact the House Elections Committee and urge them to vote NO on SB208 & SB209!
PUBLIC ECUCATION
The House Committee on K-12 Education Budget last week used a controversial technique called a "gut-and-go" to attach pro-public education issues (such as fully funding special education and raising wages for teachers) to the infamous "voucher", or so-called "scholarship", which would allow public tax dollars to fund private and parochial schools.
House Substitute for SB83 is harmful for public education in Kansas, despite seemingly helpful intentions behind certain portions of the bill. This bill has since been passed out of the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget and has been sent to House. We've been hearing that the House will vote on this tomorrow!
Visit KSLegLookup.org to find your state Rep and urge them to vote NO on H Sub for SB83!
Write your own email or simply copy and paste the message below. from our friend Erin Woods at Six Degrees of Activism. (Make sure to add your Rep's last name before sending!)
Dear Representative ___________, I urge you to vote NO on Sub for SB 83 and any other voucher type bills that divert public funds to private schools. Kansans testified overwhelmingly against Education Savings Accounts, with 268 pieces of opposition testimony, including 240 private citizens. If you truly want to help Kansas children and teachers, pass a clean funding bill with the increase to special education funding as outlined in the Governor.
Want to do more? Join our friends at Game on for Kansas Schools and other public education advocates at the Statehouse tomorrow. Check out the Game On Facebook page for more info.
Thank you for taking action with Mainstream & for your commitment to #DoMoreThanVote!
Best,
Michael Poppa
Executive Director
