Kansas Meadowlark

Targeted and likely close state senate races are the battleground contests over control of the Kansas Senate. How is new voter registration used as a tactic to affect these contests?

This article looks at the new voter registration by political party from 2007 through early Sept 2008 for state senate races that are likely to be close. A PDF file shows the new voter profiles for each of the 40 State Senate districts.

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Recent Meadowlark articles gave a breakdown of new voters statewide and by congressional district. This article looks at new voters from 2007 and through early Sept 2008 by county. Future articles will show this breakdown by state senate and state rep districts.

Graphics below show new voter profiles by political party for the largest four counties, Johnson, Sedgwick, Shawnee, and Wyandotte. A further breakdown by state rep or state senate districts may be informative in larger counties, but county trends likely reflect local party activities in smaller counties. A PDF file shows the new voter profiles for all 105 Kansas counties.

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A recent Meadowlark article, More new Democrats than Republicans register to vote in Kansas in 2008, gave statewide totals for 2007 and 2008 through early Sept. This article analyzes differences in new voter registration by the four Kansas congressional districts in the same two years. Future articles will look at new voter registration by State Senate and State Rep districts.

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[Updated] A look at new registered voters in Kansas in 2008 shows slightly more new Democrats have registered to vote statewide than new Republicans, but Republicans had the edge in 2007. However, there were more new unaffiliated (”independent”) voters than either Democrats or Republicans. The number of new Reform or Libertarian party voters statewide is almost negligible.

See the charts below showing the cumulative number of new voters in 2007 and 2008 in Kansas by week. (more…)

Secretary of State Ron Thornburgh is the chief election officer in Kansas, and keeps track of all Kansas corporations, including non-profit corporations. Exorbitant fees charged by the Secretary of State’s office for “open records” prevent the public from learning about non-profits that may be involved in this year’s elections until possibly after the elections. (more…)

People in the Kansas City area can move across the state line and re-register to vote, and unknowingly become registered voters in both Kansas and Missouri. Such folks vote in their “new” state and are likely not even aware they are still registered in their “old” state. Legally, a voter cannot vote twice in both states, but it’s unclear whether such a voter accidentally registered in both states could vote in either their “old” state or their “new” state. And who would know if they did?

A prominent member of the Kansas City Star’s staff moved across the state line from Kansas to Missouri and re-registered to vote in Missouri, but is still an “active” registered voter in Kansas — more than 10 years later. (more…)