League of Women Voters: Voting law a modern poll tax

The League of Women Voters Wichita-Metro has reached the boiling point over the issue of voting rights. The local league is concerned that the current voting law is promoting partisan politics rather than the patriotic practice of voting.

The Secretary of State’s Office says that it is easy to produce your birth certificate. This stipulation discriminates against most women by putting obstacles in their way. A man’s name on his birth certificate is probably the same name he uses today. Not so for most women. For a woman to show the paper trail from the name on her birth certificate to the name she uses now can be a hurdle.

One of our members, Ruth, is now in her third marriage through death and divorce. If she needed to register, she would start with her birth certificate, then three marriage certificates, one death certificate and one divorce degree. At $15 per copy to the Kansas Office of Vital Statistics, that comes to $90.

Some have said that these Kansas citizens have just put off completing their registrations and are just lazy. The league calls it a modern-day poll tax.

There has been almost zero voter fraud in the state of Kansas. People in this country illegally are not going to try to vote; they tend to keep a low profile.

About 22,000 citizens have filled out and submitted their registrations to vote but have had their registrations placed in “suspense.” These citizens would be voting on Nov. 4 if it weren’t for the current law. Things need to change.

Your vote is your voice. Don’t be silenced. Speak up and vote.

This story was originally published October 4, 2014 at 7:02 PM with the headline "League of Women Voters: Voting law a modern poll tax."