As the administration calls for gun control measures, many congressmembers, including from Kansas and Missouri, have remained silent. A poll found that only 39 percent of Missourians supported a semi-automatic weapon ban.
Lawmakers want to impose new limits on early and mail-in voting to ensure that all ballots are received by the county election office on Election Day to avoid delaying results, which, they claim, sows doubt in the process.
Officials in Kansas and Missouri worry that a federal default could severely disrupt a variety of government services that could cause local layoffs, jettison retirement funds, restrict Medicaid access and more.
Last month, the former representative was found guilty of 12 felony charges for lying on federal COVID aid applications while he served in the Kansas House. Capps defrauded banks and government agencies out of $355,550.
The Legislature’s auditing firm found “significant weaknesses in several security control areas” across the 20 government agencies that were audited, putting the state at greater risk of cyber attacks and other security incidents.
The continued refusal to accept Donald Trump’s loss in 2020 is fueling an anti-democratic trend as the state heads into a highly competitive Nov. 8 midterm election which, experts worry, could cause lasting damage to institutions.
An audit found that the state’s unemployment agency likely paid between $441 million and $466 million in fake claims from March 2020 to March 2022. It also flagged numerous legitimate claimants as fraud.
Secretary of State Scott Schwab confirmed that a recount of the failed abortion amendment would cost $120,000. In response, anti-abortion activist Mark Gietzen filed a lawsuit demanding a hand recount without cost.
The U.S. Census Bureau found that nearly half of adults ages 55 to 66 had no personal retirement savings in 2017. But a state-sponsored private retirement auto-IRA savings program could give many retiring Kansans a break.
Residents will vote on a ballot measure in November that would give the Legislature veto power over rules and regulations issued by Gov. Laura Kelly. The measure was proposed by Kelly’s opponent, Attorney General Derek Schmidt.
Osage and Franklin counties haven’t supported a Democrat since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, and yet in the vote last week, the constitutional amendment to ban abortion failed in both localities.
Inside politics: Key governor contests are set with abortion as the central issue; a defense of state Senates puts the focus on Nebraska; and, once again, a big number of legislators are facing no competition in elections.
In the week leading up to the Supreme Court’s decision to overrule Roe v. Wade on June 24, Kansas and Missouri saw bumps of 1,038 percent and 627 percent, respectively, in voter registrations. The spike comes just ahead of both state primaries.
