This is going to be a simple Update, because you have but one task today. Vote. No, it is not election day, but you can cast your vote today! No, it is not 2020, but you can vote for important positions that affect you directly, and you can do it today! It is time. We vote every August and November in Kansas. Get out there and vote, and bring people with you!

The news lately has been filled with stories of hateful acts. From the President basking in racists chants, to continued institutional attacks on immigrants, to the murder of an African American transgender woman in Kansas City, and more. You don't have to look far to find people committing acts of hate, emboldened by the validation they feel from the White House, and ignored by a public too weary to join the cries to resist.

Every year, MainStream tracks legislation and voting in the Kansas Legislature. And every year, we choose a few of the most important votes, and score legislators on whether they voted with or against MainStream's stated positions. Our voting scorecard for 2019 is here, with scores for 2019, and lifetime scores as well.

• See our 2019 Voting Scorecard for the Kansas Legislature (.pdf)

MainPAC, the political action committee of the MainStream Coalition, has released their endorsements for the 2019 elections, for Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.

• See MainPAC's endorsements

Liberty. Freedom. Independence. We take pride in these words, as Americans. We celebrate them on the fourth day of July, reminding ourselves that we once overthrew a tyrant who sought to deny us those words. In 1776, we fought together for the right to be independent.

It is time. We need you to help us get out the vote in the 2019 elections. We're not asking you to attend a phone bank, or to sign up to walk in the heat, knocking on the doors of strangers. No, we just want you to call your friends, your family, or your co-workers. People you already know. We want you to talk to them about how important it is for them to vote.

The Kansas Supreme Court ruled on Friday that Kansas is finally in compliance with their order to provide Constitutionally-mandated funding for public education. For the first time in at least a decade, Kansas is spending what the people expect, and can provide adequate and equitable public education for ALL Kansas children. But Kansas kids still need you.

Who are we talking about? Who is the next Kris Kobach? To tell you the truth, we don't know, but if you'd known what his future held twenty years ago, when Kris Kobach won his first elected position, do you think you would have voted, worked, and donated to his opponent?

Let’s give some context for that number, 82% turnout. In the last three Presidential elections, less than 60% of voters cast a ballot. Even fewer people vote in non-Presidential years, however the 2018 midterms recorded the highest voter turnout of any midterm election since 1966! How many turned out? 47%. That's right. Not even half of registered Americans voted in the most hotly contested midterms in fifty years.

At MainStream, we respect those who dedicate themselves to public service. There is no greater sacrifice for the public good than that of the men and women of the armed forces who have lost their lives in service to the nation. This Memorial Day, we honor their memories, and their commitment.