photo by: Austin Hornbostel/Journal-World

Former Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger speaks at the Watkins Museum of History on Thursday, Oct. 13, 2022. , Kansas Rep. Barbara Ballard is at right. The pair are members of Keep Kansas Free, a bipartisan group of women that formed to promote voter awareness and turnout in the upcoming general election.

Kansas Rep. Barbara Ballard and former Kansas Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger teamed up on Thursday to tout the significance of the upcoming general election — and in particular urged voters to select candidates who support women’s rights and to vote against the proposed constitutional amendment that would shift powers of the governor to the Legislature.

Ballard, a Democrat, and Praeger, a Republican, appeared at the Watkins Museum of History to discuss the importance of civic engagement.

Both are members of Keep Kansas Free, a bipartisan group of women who are promoting voter awareness and turnout in the Nov. 8 election. According to a news release, the group was originally formed to support women’s reproductive health rights. Praeger is a co-founder of the group, along with former Kansas Secretary of Revenue Joan Wagnon.

“This election is not as urgent as August 2, it’s not as well-known,” said Ballard, who represents west Lawrence in the Kansas House of Representatives. “That’s why we were out for August 2, and it’s one of the reasons why we’re out now, because it’s no less important. It’s almost like a stupor; people may not be paying attention to it because they didn’t know. Something wasn’t taken away yet, but if we don’t do anything, something will be taken away from us.”

The pair urged voters to elect candidates who will support women and uphold the will of the majority following the Aug. 2 primary election, when Kansas voters overwhelmingly rejected a proposed Kansas constitutional amendment that would have eliminated a state constitutional right to abortion.

The notion of upholding the will of the majority applies to other issues as well, Praeger said. She pointed to Medicaid expansion as one of them, noting that a majority of Kansas voters support it. A recent poll from the American Cancer Society’s Cancer Action Network appears to support that claim; it found that 72% of the 500 registered voters polled are in favor of expanding KanCare, the state’s Medicaid program.

Ballard and Praeger also encouraged voters to retain all Kansas Supreme Court judges up for retention on the ballot to help protect reproductive choice, and they advocated against the proposed constitutional amendment that would shift power from the executive to the legislative branch. Currently the governor has administrative power over rules and regulations on such matters as public health, education, and the environment. The proposed amendment would give legislators the power to directly veto the governor’s regulations with a simple majority vote.