Voting is a right for all American citizens — but that doesn’t mean it’s easy for everyone to vote. In fact, between gerrymandering and closing polls, voter suppression is thriving in our country. That’s why it is SO CRITICAL to:
Educate yourself on voter rights
Defend everyone’s right to vote — and poll access.
Encourage everyone you know to not only vote — but vote their values. crisis of democracy.
Sign the petition against the closing of 8 early-voting sites in JoCo! 🗳️🗳️
Get involved, show up and Do Something! 👋👋
How will real Kansans be impacted if billionaires take over our courts? Sign up for our Meet Up. 💰💰
Our first Missouri Meet Up: A look into the DSA 🌹🌹
Volunteer for or attend our Mutual Aid Fair! 🫶🫶
Save our impartial courts! Hear from the judges themselves! 👩⚖️👨⚖️
Countdown to primaries. ⌛⌛
Another week and another new tactic to suppress votes in JoCo. The latest wrinkle is a change in requirements for election works. If you want to work early voting, you are required to commit to working all day for EVERY early voting day. Let’s do the math…that’s 14 consecutive days for twelve hours a day!! And what does that equal? Exhausted workers, longer lines because of fewer locations and more voters disenfranchised. Why make it easy…right, Commissioner Schmidt?
What you can do:
Request an audit! Johnson County taxes pay the Election Commission’s budget. The polls that were closed were funded. Let’s see where all the money went! You can request an audit: Submit Audit Ideas | Johnson County Kansas
Sign our petition to demand transparency and accountability from our County-paid election commissioner! Sign the petition! We’ll deliver it to the election office.
Make an appointment to meet with Election Commissioner Connie Schmidt: (913) 715-6800. She works for us and needs to hear from her constituents.
Send Connie Schmidt a letter or email: 2101 E Kansas City Rd, Olathe, KS 66061 or registration@jocoelection.org.
The Election Office is open Monday - Friday from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm to answer your questions. 2101 E Kansas City Rd, Olathe, KS 66061
As a reminder, Commissioner Connie Schmidt closed eight early voting locations IN SPITE OF HAVING FULL FUNDING from the County Commissioners. These advanced voting locations will not be open:
Central Resource Library
Oak Park Library
Leawood City Hall
Tomahawk Ridge Community Center
JCCC
Westwood City Hall
Olathe Downtown Library
Johnson County Sunset Offices
The polling places slated for closure serve some of the county’s most diverse, densely populated, and lower-income communities…areas that also tend to vote Democratic.
The highest Latino population in the County resides in 66061 and 66062, which the Olathe Downtown Library serves.
Westwood City Hall serves what’s known as the “Democratic belt of JoCo,” where voters in Fairway, Roeland Park, Westwood and other reliably blue cities vote.
Johnson County Sunset Offices in Mission serves residents in the 66202 zip code, one of the lowest socioeconomic areas of the county.
JCCC serves the highest concentration of young voters.
Oh, and the busiest transit lines in the County travel the corridor from the Sunset Offices by the Oak Park Library and over to JCCC.
Do the math, folks!
Boots on the Ground Midwest has so many opportunities to participate and feel like you’re making a difference. We have options for all skill sets, time availability and personality types! Here are some ways for you to jump in now:
Join our Midterms Strategy Teams: If you’re interested in getting more involved with the upcoming Midterms, but don’t know where to start…START HERE! We have three committees that all need your help: Get Out the Vote, Vote Your Values and Election Security. Want to learn more? Sign up here.
Boots is in search of a grant writer for a couple hours a month. Interested? Email mary@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org
Want to have a direct impact on folks in our community who are systemically marginalized? Join the Mutual Aid Group. This effort provides lots of opportunities to help when and how you can. volunteer@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org
Haven’t found your spot yet? Email us and we can plug you in and get you started! Email us: Volunteer@BootsOnTheGroundMidwest.org. If you have reached out in the past, and didn’t get a response, we’re so sorry! We did get swamped, so feel free to reach out again!
League of Women Voters is writing postcards for the primaries! We did a great job last week, but we are still behind. If you are available, here are the details:
Join us for a candid look at the impact on Kansans if we lose the Aug. 4 amendment and our impartial courts become politicized. Our panelists will discuss the day-to-day challenges real Kansans will face if billionaires control our Supreme Court.
Stacey Knoell, Kansas Black Leadership Council; Claire Reagan, public education advocate; Hazel Krebs, LGTBQIA+ activist; Taylor Morton, Planned Parenthood; Anamarie Rebori-Simmons, Kansans United for Impartial Courts, moderator.
✅ Monday | June 15 | 6 p.m. | Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church | 9400 Pflumm | Lenexa, KS | RSVP here.
➡️ Please bring donation of non-perishable food!
Other ways to take action:
✅ Virtual phone banks with Kansans United for Impartial Courts (training provided)
Tuesdays in June from 6 - 8:30. Sign up here for any Tuesday.
Thursdays in June from 6 to 8:30 p.m. Sign up here for any Thursday.
Saturday in June from 1 - 2:30 p.m. Sign up here for any Saturday.
✅ Canvassing in Johnson County with Kansans United for Impartial Courts (training provided)
Saturdays in June at 10 a.m. or 1 p.m. Address provided with sign up.
If you’re in KCMO and you want to get more involved, we’re launching our first KCMO monthly meet up. Join us to learn more about why the DSA (Democratic Socialists of America) is growing rapidly — especially among young voters. Drew Sorenson, co-chair of the KC chapter, will offer an overview of the DSA: what they stand for, how they build community — and why they’re attracting new members at a rapid rate.
Our featured non-profit this month is The Prospect KC, which provides culinary training, food access and wraparound services for Kansas Citians in need.
➡️➡️ We’ll be collecting canned goods, bus passes and kids’ snacks for The Prospect, which serves about 400 people a day. DEFINITE need for bus passes.
✅ Wed. June 17 | 6 - 7:30 p.m. | Immanuel Lutheran Church | 1700 Westport Rd. SIGN UP HERE
Neighbors support neighbors! The JoCo Mutual Aid group is having a fair to show support to the Olathe community, particularly those community members who have been hit hard by ICE raids. Spread the word about our free brake light clinic! (See above!)
Join a panel session and Q&A with Chief Judge Karen Arnold Burger, Kansas Court of Appeals and David L. Stutzman, former District Judge. They will discuss how the process of appointing Supreme Court Justices currently works and has worked for decades.
During the August primary election, judicial impartiality will be on the line. Proposed amendment SCR 1611 would make the Supreme Court political and undercut the entire idea of checks and balances. Changing to an elected court would involve participation by sources of Big Money who seek to influence the outcomes of the cases in directions advantageous to their interests. (sound familiar?)
✅ Wednesday, June 24 | 6:30 - 7:30 pm | Shawnee Mission Unitarian Universalist Church | 9400 Pflumm Rd, Lenexa | Register Here
✅ Key voting dates: Kansas
Register to vote by July 14, 2026 ⚠️
Early/advance voting begins July 15, 2026
Request mail ballot now - through July 28⚠️⚠️
Primary Election Day August 4, 2026
✅ Key voting dates Missouri
Register to vote by July 8, 2026
Early/absentee voting begins June 23, 2026 (6 weeks before election)
“No excuse” in-person absentee July 21 – Aug. 3, 2026
Primary Election Day: August 4, 2026
IF you live on either side of state line in the KC metro area and typically get a mail-in ballot because you don’t have access to transportation or have mobility issues, please reach out to info@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org. Put Election Ride in the subject line and we’ll get in touch.
The Boots on the Ground calendar offers a curated list of action items in Kansas and the KCMO metro.
Please submit items for the calendar to: calendar@bootsonthegroundmidwest.org
First, thanks for being part of the resistance. We need every one of you!
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