A local group is helping to register people to vote during Riverfest in downtown Wichita--including those who at one time were incarcerated.
Men and women released from jail who are U.S. citizens and "off paper"--meaning off probation and parole--can vote in Kansas. But many don't know they can.
Doug Ballard is part of the social justice group JENI, which stands for Jobs & Education--Not Incarceration. He says the group has been registering people to vote, including one formally incarcerated man who had not voted in more than three decades.
"You know, we’ve got 10 years, 20 years, 30 years. People are sure that they couldn’t vote, and yet it’s been legal to vote if you are a felon off papers since 1957," Ballard says.
Coordinator Janice Bradley says some who stop by the booth says they don’t plan to vote because they don’t like the candidates.
"But we have every seat in the Legislature that is up this year, and we have more influence at the state and local level," she says.
A paper copy or a camera photo of a birth certificate, U.S. passport or other citizenship document is needed to complete registration. Voter registration is available during Riverfest evenings from 5 to 8 p.m. under the red canopy at Douglas Avenue and Water Street.
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Carla Eckels is assistant news director and the host of Soulsations. Follow her on Twitter @Eckels.
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