Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Program Update:  

Utility-scale Solar Proposal Not Recommended 

by the Douglas County Planning Commission

This fall, our League’s Renewable Energy and Energy Conservation Study Group recommended that the League support utility-scale solar in Douglas County and our LWVL-DC Board approved that position which we communicated to the Douglas County Planning Commission and to the public through letters to the editor of the Lawrence Times and the Lawrence Journal World.  Utility-scale solar is non-polluting, generates tax revenue, and does not require water or the mining and burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity which will go into the current energy grid. Utility-scale solar is urgently needed to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gasses from the burning of fossil fuels to generate electricity. 

The Kansas Sky Energy Project of the Savion company proposed to build a utility-scale solar plant north of Lawrence.  Their proposal was submitted to the Douglas County Planning Commission. Despite the favorable review of the proposal by county staff, the Planning Commission failed to recommend the proposal at their December 18th meeting.  The Planning Commission split with a 4-4 vote on whether to recommend the project to the County Commission.  One of the 10 planning commissioners recused himself from the vote and another was absent from the meeting.  The County Commission will review the proposal, but because it was not recommended by the Planning Commission, the proposal will require a unanimous vote of the 3 County Commissioners for approval, not just a simple majority.  

The review of the Kansas Sky Energy Project proposal is not yet on the County Commission agenda.  Our League will write to the County Commission to state our support for the project. 

You can individually submit your comments about their approval of the proposal by emailing publiccomment@douglascountyks.org. 

The Renewable Energy Study Group is disappointed that the Planning Commission failed to recommend this utility-scale solar project.  If not here, where?  If not now, when?

Submitted by Carol Williamson

Article from LWVK Voter Notes, November-December 2023

Suffragist Memorial Artist Phyllis Pease's Mural Chosen

By Marlene Merrill, LWVK 1st Vice President

 The Suffragist Memorial Committee is pleased to announce that the Capitol Preservation Committee, the statehouse group that determines what is permitted to be displayed in the Capitol, has given provisional approval of our selected artist’s mural. 

The Suffragist Committee selected Phyllis Pease from Manhattan. Phyllis is the daughter of a 2nd generation Kansas farmer and a proud Mexican Immigrant mother from Kingman County. She graduated from KSU with a BFA in 1987. In her words, she tries to tell a story with her art. Her murals are displayed at Sunset Zoo in Manhattan and the KSU multicultural center.

The selected mural depicts the rich history and profound imagery of the suffragist struggle. It features Clarina Nicholes surrounded by other Kansas women leaders, like Anna Waide from Lincoln, Laura Johns from Salina, Annie Diggs from Topeka, and Lila Monroe from WaKeeney. In the background is a row of suffragists wearing white dresses and holding a banner declaring the right to vote. The mural will be 18 feet by 8 feet on the first-floor wall across from the cage elevator in the Capitol.

 We interviewed five finalists: Zak Barnes, Geraldine Craig, Stephen Johnson, Phyllis Pease and Ann Zerger/Chip Parker. Next steps include presenting Phyllis’s work to the Capitol Preservation Committee in January, when we are asking for full approval. It will take Phyllis a year to complete the art, and the Suffragist Committee is anticipating an installation ceremony in 2025.

How you can help! It is our wish that this public art inspires and educates people about Kansas women suffragists and passes on our values to present and future generations. Let others in your local League and community know about the Suffragist Memorial. 

We need contributions to make this a reality! To donate, go to: https://kssuffragist.org/KS-suffragist-memorial-contribution-form.pdf .

Board Recommends Concurrence with LWVK Draft Position on Elections

To defend democracy and empower voters, LWVK has conducted a 1.5 year study to update the Position on Elections.  As part of our February 13 meeting, our Lawrence-Douglas County League will vote on concurrence with the LWVK draft position as recommended by our LWVL-DC Board of Directors.   We encourage League members to attend the February 13 meeting on Zoom or in person at Lawrence Public Library, Meeting Room A to vote on our local league concurrence with the LWVK Position on Elections.  The Zoom link for Feb. 13 will be sent to local League members by email. LWVK Council will be asked to adopt the position at the April 27 Council meeting. 

Richard Pund and Susan Quinn are co-chairs of the LWVK Study Committee on Elections and LWVL-DC member Cille King is a member of that committee.  Richard updated our League on the committee’s work at our Hot Topic in August.  We thank the committee for their work.

Four of our local League members attended the January 6 state-wide LWVK information on the draft position on Election Methods: Charley Crabtree, Jerry Jost, Cille King and Carol Williamson.

Below is a summary of Draft Position, as presented at Jan. 6, 2024 state-wide information.  Meeting.  The updated annotated position can be found here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XZ3FRxIuRJ8ynyWmPh5q4KcTsaOJI45V1Zbd8MS6EDk/edit?usp=sharing

LWVK Draft position on Election Methods includes 3 LWVUS adopted positions on elections:

1. Selection of president: replace the electoral college with the popular vote (LWVUS Moonshot Goal)

2. LWVUS position on voting systems

3. LWVUS position on a citizen’s right to vote

LWVK Draft position includes statements on voting in Kansas to achieve LWVUS positions:

1. Policies on methods of voting in Kansas

   1. Simplify the voting process and reduce the cost of administering elections. We encourage the adoption of election methods that do not require separate primary elections or runoffs, allowing all voters to fully participate in the process on the day of the general election.

   2. Broaden voter representation in legislative bodies. Government bodies should adopt proportional election methods such as multi-winner ranked choice voting.

   3. Replace block voting as an option for local elections with a proportional election method.

   4. Ensure the winning candidate for executive and other single-winner offices has majority support, using a method such as Instant Runoff Voting.

   5. Allocate funding for the SOS and county election offices to purchase and certify voting equipment that supports these new voting methods, as well as funding for voter education when new methods are implemented.

   6. Require election officials encourage voter turnout and participation in their official capacity.

   7. Ensure the design of ballots that allow the secure and accurate tabulation of votes.

   8. Enable voter registration on the day of an election for all eligible voters.

   9. Standardize the voting process statewide to encourage voter participation and reduce voter confusion.

   10. Make the general election day a holiday

   11. Allow voting by mail to remain a secure, dependable, and accessible method for voters to cast their ballot.

   12. Allow county election officers to continue to place remote drop boxes in locations that are accessible and convenient for all voters.

   13. Expand the availability of in-person advance voting to allow more voters to vote prior to election day.

2. Policies to ensure a citizen’s right to vote and reduce election costs in Kansas

   1. Reduce the Cost of Voting by making voting more accessible and less difficult.

   2. Recruit and retain Poll Workers and Election Officials

   3. Fight Voter Suppression and Misinformation

   4. Encourage would-be voters to make a voting plan

   5. Require election officials to inform voters of their ballot status so voters have an opportunity to cure provisional ballots in time for them to be counted.

   6. Continue to use nonpartisan elections for local offices.

Notes: Draft position does not endorse a specific election method. It was suggested on Jan. 6 that a statement to support permanent mail-in ballot provisions

Submitted by Carol Williamson

On December 15, 2023, the Kansas Supreme Court heard the State’s appeal to the LWVK case against the 2021 Kansas voter suppression law.  The State appealed on the basis that LWVK and partners in the suit did not have standing to sue.  The Kansas Supreme Court ruled the League and partners have the right to sue and sent the suit back to the Court of Appeals.  

The plaintiffs of the lawsuit are LWVK, Loudlight, Kansas Appleseed and the Topeka Independent Living Resource Center who contend that by making it a felony to be perceived as impersonating an election official either by giving voter information or by collecting voter registrations.  These actions are core to our LWV tabling efforts to get out the vote and empower voters.  Since the law was enacted in 2021, our local League has continued to provide voter information, but we do not collect voter registrations.  Instead we distribute voter registration websites and have iPads at our voter information tables at public events on which voters can register or check their own voter registration.

Read more here about the status of the lawsuit in an article published by WIBW.