Statement: Court Rules Against Kansas Voters, Civic Engagement Group

The Voter Participation Center is disappointed in the decision made by a federal appeals court to allow the enforcement of anti-voter provisions in HB 2332. This ruling will harm Kansas voters and our democracy. However, the Voter Participation Center is not backing down and will continue to defend Kansans from assaults on our democracy.

In 2021, the Kansas Legislature overrode the Governor’s veto and passed HB 2332, an omnibus elections bill that prohibits out-of-state entities from mailing advance mail ballot applications to any voter in the state, in violation of the organizations’ ability to engage in voter engagement efforts that constitutes core political speech under the First Amendment. HB 2332 criminalizes the mailing of advance mail ballot applications personalized with the voter’s name, address and other information, even if the voter provided that information and specifically requested an advance mail ballot application.

The Voter Participation Center, a nonprofit civic-engagement organization which helps to register and turnout voters, including to vote by mail, filed suit against Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, and Johnson County District Attorney Stephen Howe in 2021. Later that year, the district court granted VPC a preliminary injunction stopping the law from going into effect. Campaign Legal Center (CLC), Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Kansas attorney Mark Johnson represented the non-profit.

The district court twice ruled in favor of the Voter Participation Center, blocking the enforcement of HB 2332 and affirming that voter engagement constitutes protected free speech under the First Amendment. The Tenth Circuit Court’s decision runs counter to that consensus, and it risks weakening a proven method for driving voter participation.

While we are disappointed with this reversal, the fight to protect Kansas voters is not over. We are reviewing yesterday’s ruling and assessing our legal options. No matter what, we will continue to fight for the rights of all eligible voters in Kansas.

“HB 2332 is a dangerous law and that is why we took action. The provisions upheld by the court will make voting more difficult for Kansans by threatening their ability to vote-by-mail,” said Tom Lopach, president and CEO of the nonprofit and nonpartisan Voter Participation Center (VPC). “In the 2020 election, we saw firsthand the urgency of vote-by-mail in the midst of the pandemic. That’s why we fought back–to protect Kansans and their right to vote. We will keep working to ensure every American can make their voice heard.”

The Voter Participation Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to increasing civic engagement and closing voter registration and turnout gaps. Since 2003, VPC has helped register millions of voters—particularly among historically underrepresented communities—and continues to run the nation’s largest mail-based and digital voter engagement programs.