By Sherman Smith | editor-in-chief
Good morning! We're reporting on a judge's ruling to preserve the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots, the local impact of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the rapid spread of AI, and the latest from Washington.
Grace Hills for Kansas Reflector
Kansas judge issues injunction temporarily blocking repeal of voters’ 3-day grace period
TOPEKA — A Douglas County District Court judge issued a temporary injunction Thursday keeping in place a 2017 state law allowing the counting of advance mail ballots postmarked by Election Day but arriving at county offices up to three days after polls closed.
Judge Carl Folsom’s order placed a hold on a 2025 law that required rejection of advance mail-in ballots not received by county election officials by 7 p.m. on Election Day.
The lawsuit by Kansas Appleseed, Loud Light, the Disability Rights Center of Kansas and three Kansas voters asserted repeal of the three-day grace period was a “deliberate and unconstitutional assault on Kansans’ fundamental right to vote.” The plaintiffs filed the suit against Secretary of State Scott Schwab and Douglas County Clerk Jamie Shew.
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Downstream effects of federal cuts seen in Kansas budget, access to healthcare, food assistance
TOPEKA — Repercussions from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act hit the Kansas budget with at least $16.4 million in costs and affected residents who lost health insurance and access to food assistance benefits.
Nonprofit leaders on Tuesday delved into the effects of President Donald Trump’s reconciliation bill, H.R. 1, which passed about one year ago. They focused on downstream effects of policy changes.
“When lawmakers come back in January, they’re already going to be facing hard choices,” said Megan Leopold, senior policy adviser at Kansas Action for Children. “The fiscal year 2027 budget is expected to spend $407 million more than the state brings in.”
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OPINION
Is AI the most rapidly adopted technology ever? Many Kansans would (correctly) say yes
By Eric Thomas
For the past few months, I have been collecting personal anecdotes and news stories about how casually and quickly Kansas — and the world — has been adopting artificial technology.
The research papers we assign ChatGPT to write. The spreadsheet formulas we delegate to Copilot. The internet searches that Gemini wrestles away from old-school Google. The vacations that we allow Claude to plan.
Taking advantage of the billions of smartphones in our pockets, the millions of computers on our desks and the robust internet, artificial intelligence has spread astoundingly since it was introduced as a consumer product in late 2022.
US House Republicans take ‘first step’ toward dismantling Department of Education
WASHINGTON — A major legislative package that would put into law President Donald Trump’s push to greatly reduce the responsibilities of the U.S. Department of Education advanced out of a U.S. House panel on Wednesday.
US House panel approves $95B GOP-only budget blueprint
Republicans on the U.S. House Budget Committee approved their budget resolution Thursday, marking one small step forward in the complicated process that could allow the party to enact a third party-line bill.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Kansas Reflector staff will participate in the following free public forums.
5:30 p.m. July 23, Emporia Arts Center. Editor-in-chief Sherman Smith will lead a discussion on the proposed constitutional amendment to elect Kansas Supreme Court justices. Host: Kansas Appleseed. Register here.
2 p.m. Sept. 27, Red Rocks Visitor Center in Emporia. Host: Red Rocks.
If you're interested in having us talk in your town, email Sherman Smith at [email protected].
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