Voter suppression is a growing concern across the country. The
latest goings-on in Georgia are a case in point with reports of two-hour waits to vote and a reduced number of polling locations.
Kansas, of course, has a long history with the perpetual-motion-machine that is Secretary of State Kris Kobach. He’s emerged as a champion of voter identification laws that have been cited as a primary factor in reducing turnout, often among Democratic constituencies across the country.
Now, Dodge City is under scrutiny for what appears to be a blatant bid to undercut the turnout in western Kansas’ Ford County.
On election day, Dodge City voters will convene in one — we’ll repeat that, just one — polling location, which will be at the expo center outside of town. It’s a new site because construction made the previous location inaccessible. But there are major problems: No public transportation serves the expo center. In fact, the nearest bus stop is more than a mile away. At times, freight trains block traffic, slowing access to the polls.
The single polling location will serve 13,136 voters, and that makes it one of the busiest polling sites in the state. The average polling location serves 1,200 voters.
“It’s limiting people’s rights to vote in the most fundamental way,” first-time voter Alejandro Rangel-Lopez told KSN News. “They just can’t make a quick trip to the polling booth.”