The clock is ticking on voter registration
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Kansas Citians on both sides of the state line have less than a month to register for the Nov. 3 election, and if you've moved or changed your name since you last voted, or just turned 18, that includes you.
Why it matters: This is the ballot that decides who replaces Laura Kelly, whether Missouri repeals the abortion amendment its voters approved two years ago and which congressional map KC votes under going forward.
Context: Tuesday is National Voter Registration Day, a holiday started in 2012 that has signed up more than 6.5 million voters through registration drives at libraries, campuses and community groups.
- Its organizers estimate as many as 1 in 4 eligible Americans still aren't registered.
By the numbers: Kansas had over 2 million registered voters as of June 1, including roughly 460,000 in Johnson County and 93,000 in Wyandotte County.
- Nearly 1 in 4 Wyandotte County voters are listed as inactive, meaning the post office flagged them as likely moved. In Johnson County it's about 1 in 8. Statewide the share has risen every month this year, from nearly 10% in January to 13.5% in May.
- Missouri's last full count, from November 2024, showed nearly 4.5 million registered voters, including nearly 512,000 in Jackson County.
Zoom in: Moving and turning 18 aren't the only reasons someone in the metro might still need to register. More than 41,000 Missourians on felony probation or parole became eligible to vote in August, and voting rights groups are pushing the state to make sure they know it.
How to check: You can look up your registration through the Missouri and Kansas secretary of state's offices. Both states also let you register or update your address online, by mail or in person.
What's next: Registration closes Oct. 7 in Missouri and Oct. 13 in Kansas.
- Missourians with an excuse can vote absentee starting Sept. 22, and anyone can vote in person starting Oct. 20. Kansas advance voting opens as early as Oct. 14.