voting rights

The lawsuit marks the first legal challenge against the special session convened by Gov. Mike Kehoe to redraw the state's congressional map and splinter Kansas City to create a 7-1 Republican-dominated map.

Hundreds of workers and civil rights leaders in Kansas City expressed anger over efforts to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans. Advocates say they're working to keep the same from happening to Missouri, even as President Trump declares that the state "is now IN."

Legal experts say President Trump lacks the constitutional authority to stop states from offering mail ballots. Both Missouri and Kansas currently allow absentee voting by mail, but Kansas Republican lawmakers recently made it harder by eliminating a three-day grace period.

In a battle started by President Trump, Texas, California and even Missouri could redraw lines that change whose votes really matter in the 2026 congressional elections.

Missouri's Freedom Caucus is pressing Gov. Mike Kehoe to call a special session to redraw Cleaver's Kansas City-based district. Cleaver said that mid-decade redistricting would "tear up the country" by creating a "MAGA government."

A federal judge ruled that Kansas lawmakers were suppressing free speech when they passed a law targeting mail-in ballots. The law was passed one month after the Jan. 6, 2021, breach of the U.S. Capitol.

After a challenge by Republican officials, a federal appeals panel struck down a key way of enforcing the Voting Rights Act's protections against racial discrimination in seven states — including Missouri.

The SAVE Act could force eligible voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship in order to register and vote. But the lack of resources, potential to disenfranchise applicants and criminal penalties worry some county clerks in Missouri.

Republicans in the Kansas Legislature have eliminated the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots. Starting in 2026, all ballots must be returned by 7 p.m. on Election Day to be counted.

A Missouri judge threw out a lawsuit from the Missouri NAACP and other groups challenging the state's law requiring a government-issued ID to vote. But the plaintiffs say "the court got the test wrong" and ignored the burden the law places on voters.

Amendment 7 prohibits ranked-choice voting, with an exception for St. Louis. It also changes a line in the Missouri Constitution to specify that “only” U.S. citizens have the right to vote, rather than “all” U.S. citizens.

Do you have a valid voter ID for Missouri or Kansas? Or know what you cannot wear inside a polling location? Anne Calvert, president of the local League of Women Voters, shares what you need to know as we near the last days to vote.