Kansas Rejects Ballot Initiative: Statement by URGE

Statement by Nigel Morton, Senior Kansas State Organizer, URGE: Unite for Reproductive and Gender Equity

Tonight, Kansas voters made it crystal clear: our courts are not for sale.  
Kansans overwhelmingly chose to protect a transparent, tested, and trusted system that keeps our State Supreme Court independent and accountable to the law, not billionaires and wealthy donors. 

Young people were instrumental in making this outcome possible by engaging with their communities and refusing to stay on the sidelines. URGE members organized events in Topeka, Lawrence, and Wichita talking with nearly 250 voters, collected 110 pledge-to-vote cards, worked with our partners to help have more than 5,400 conversations at doors and on the phone, and helped reach more than 330,000 young voters through a targeted digital campaign. Their leadership demonstrates that when young people are informed, organized, and empowered, they can shape the future of their communities. 

While tonight’s victory is worth celebrating, our work doesn’t end here. Protecting our freedoms requires all of us to stay engaged and keep showing up for one another. Liberation is not a single moment—it is a practice. And tonight, young Kansans showed that our collective power is stronger than any attempt to undermine our democracy.