Republican Trickery Couldn't Stop Abortion Rights In Kansas

By Lucian K. Truscott IV, Salon

Pundits have been wearing out their thumbs on Twitter ever since the results of the Kansas referendum on abortion came in Tuesday night. The victory on the “No” side, against amending the state constitution to remove its protection of abortion rights, was decisive, 59 to 41 percent. Voting “Yes” in the referendum meant that the constitution could be amended and laws further restricting or banning abortion entirely could be passed in the state.

Republicans had made the vote confusing on purpose. To a casual observer, a “no” vote might seem to mean you were against abortion rights, and “yes” vote that you were for abortion rights, when in fact it was the other way around. The state Republican Party also scheduled the vote on primary day in August, when turnout is typically much heavier for the GOP in a state where Republicans outnumber Democrats almost two to one and frequently have competitive primary contests, while Democrats rarely do and their voters often don’t bother to show up.. Furthermore, Republicans were betting that turnout among independents would be low because they are not permitted to vote in either party’s primaries.