NEWS
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Voting registration change may have limited effect
► CHANDLER BOESE
@Chandler_Boese
ast week, a federal appeals court ruled that Kansas and two other states cannot require people registering to vote to show proof of citizenship, but the ruling might not have the large effect that one might expect.
Bettina Bugatto/KANSAN Students register to vote outside of Wesco Hall. Some are concerned that since Kansas passed a law to require citizens to show proof of citizenship it has become more difficult for people to register.
"There have not been many people on the suspended voter list who have showed up at the polls thinking that they're registered to vote and not being able to vote," he said.
Patrick Miller, an assistant professor at the University, said the ruling likely won't have a significant impact on any elections results. Miller said statistics show that the proof of citizenship requirement has not prevented many Kansas voters from voting in the past.
Previously, if Kansas voters registered to vote with a federal form and affirmed that they were citizens, they would still have to send their proof of citizenship — typically meaning a passport or birth certificate — to their local election office. If they did not, they would be put on a suspended voters list and turned away from voting if they showed up at the polls.
The ruling means that Kansas cannot prevent those people from voting, though the requirement still applies to those who registered using a state form.
They might go to the DMV to register and not know they needed to provide proof of citizenship."
Lucille King Vice president of the Lawrence-Douglas County League of Women Voters
Bettina Bugatto/KANSAN
Miller said the Secretary of State's office has not yet announced exactly how they're going to implement the ruling. Even then, he said, the dispute likely won't be completely resolved until a case makes it to the U.S. Supreme Court, something that is unlikely to happen unless more states implement the law.
Lucille King, the vice president of the Lawrence-Douglas County League of Women Voters, said she and her organization aren't happy with the limited scope of the ruling, because it will likely only apply to federal elections.
"The league hopes people vote on all the positions, not just the three top ones," she said. "It's important for our state and our county and our local issues to have people informed and vote down the ballot and vote to retain or not retain our judges."
zenship requirement will be repealed for all levels of the November election. She said she wants people to understand the importance of voting on each position, because the decisions they make will impact everyone.
King said the league is still actively trying to get people to register and turn in their documentation until they're sure that the proof of citi-
In King's opinion, however, the proof of citizenship requirement does keep people from voting. She said the league has seen great success with people they register and
talk to about the process in detail, but that they've seen many people at the polls who get lost in the complexities of the voting process.
"They might go to the DMV to register and not know they needed to provide proof of citizenship," she said. "But they leave thinking that they've registered and so when they get something in the mail telling them they haven't, they just think it's a
Miller said that, theoretically, last week's ruling should have helped improve representation of traditionally underrepresented groups, including young voters and minorities, as those are typically the suspended voters. However, Miller said that these groups are generally disenfranchised with the system, and less likely to complete the registration process.
mistake."
Campus PSO officers now wearing body cameras
Officer RJ Blevins displays a body camera at the KU Public Safety office.
Contributed Photo
▶ ELLE CLOUSE
@elle_clouse
Thanks to funding from Student Senate, the University Public Safety Office now has a body camera for every police officer.
The request for body cameras was presented to Student Senate two years ago, according to Gabby Naylor. the student body vice president.
Naylor said that the PSO's request came before the national demand became prevalent.
"It was a little bit before body cameras started to really hit the media," Naylor said. "It was about six months before Ferguson that they came to Student Senate for that request."
When PSO presented the idea to Student Senate, it became the Student Safety Advisory Board's task to bring to fruition.
"One of our boards and committees within Student Senate is the Student Safety Advisory Board. It's a board
At the time of the request, the police department had only been able to equip its police officers on duty or patrol with the cameras, which instigated the need to get all the staff members of the police department a body camera to use at all times.
that we appoint a few people to every year," Naylor said. "They've done a few different expenditures for the police department."
"I don't think that a lot of people know that the officers wear them."
Gabby Naylor Student senate vice president
Deputy Chief James Anguiano said that the department had some cameras, but not enough to give each officer a body camera.
"We have had in-car cameras for many years," Angui-
ano said. "We talked about body cameras since we had already started issuing them to officers."
Student Senate's funding allowed the police department to purchase the remaining necessary body cameras.
"Student Senate purchased 14 body cameras and extra batteries, and that allowed us to outfit all of the officers in the police department, including administration staff and investigators," Anguiano said.
As for students' reactions, Naylor said she thinks that many students haven't yet heard that body cameras are in use. Although, she said she has noticed a positive reaction from those who do know.
"I don't think that a lot of people know that the officers wear them. Whenever it comes up in conversation, people are amazed," Naylor said. "They love that our KU officers are wearing them."
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