Citizens-only sign at KC voting site sparks backlash. Here’s the story behind it
Greetings, Star readers.
Today, we’re diving into the story behind a prominently placed citizens-only sign that alarmed and bemused some voters at a Kansas City polling station last week. It wasn’t a one-off.
Next, we’ll get into:
• Unlawful approach: Kansas lawmakers overrode a veto to enact a law that makes it a crime to get too close to a law enforcement officer and strengthens local coordination with ICE.
• Royals stadium plan: A Kansas City Council committee advanced a plan for downtown Royals baseball on Tuesday. Here’s what comes next for the stadium plan.
This week in politics
The more than 400 voters who cast a ballot at Gashland Baptist Church in Clay County last Tuesday were greeted with a sign at the election judges’ polling station.
“Only United States Citizens are eligible to vote,” read the sign, which carried the Missouri Secretary of State’s election department logo. Beneath that, it cited the section of the Missouri Constitution on voter qualifications.
Carolyn Kobolt McClure, who cast her ballot at Gashland Baptist, said she was taken aback by the sign and questioned why only one voter qualification was listed.
“I immediately thought it’s the beginning of voter suppression,” McClure said.
Despite the apparent infrequency of noncitizen voting, it has risen as a political issue in the wake of President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud.
“While it is true that Missouri law requires Missourians to be United States citizens in order to register to vote, and therefore the sign was not inaccurate, it does concern me, because the sign feels intimidating,” said Denise Lieberman, director and general counsel for the Missouri Voter Protection Coalition, an organization that champions accessible elections.
Read the full story by Jack Harvel, including the origin of the state-issued signage and what local election officials had to say about its prominent placement at one polling station.
More from this past week
• Thousands of out-of-state motorists have lost their Missouri driver’s licenses in recent months, attorneys say, including some whose suspended sentences are being listed as DWI convictions.
• For two years, Kansas lawmakers have been promising to give voters a chance to address their soaring property taxes. But here’s why tax relief isn’t coming in 2026.
• A trial in Wyandotte County case over whether the manufacturers of a device used during open-heart surgery can be held liable for deaths linked to surgeries at KU Med is now underway.
Looking for more?
• For more politics news, follow @bymatthewkelly.bsky.social, @kacen.bsky.social, @grice1911.bsky.social and Jack Harvel’s Facebook page.
• Want to read more newsletters from The Star? You can subscribe to our free daily newsletters, the Morning Rush or the Afternoon Catch-Up.
That’s all for now! See you next week.
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