Tell Your Friends & Neighbors: Vote Blue in Kansas

Kansans have real choices on offer in 2026. 

A host of hard-working Democratic candidates are running for state-level office, for Kansas House and state School Board districts, and for US Senate and Congress. They need you and your friends and neighbors to come out in force to support them – both at the August 4th primary and on November 3.

The single best thing to do is tell your friends neighbors about this election and introduce them to the choices. 

Here are 5 easy (and 4 just slightly more advanced) ways to do that:

Easy Steps

1.      Talk Politics.   We know you don’t want to — Kansas nice and all that.  But your friends and neighbors may not know who is running or that you can be their connection. Open up that conversation.  Pick 3-5 people in your circle who you know or guess share your progressive values.  Over the course of the next month, try to plan for specific conversation about the issues of the day, and your perspective on politics and the 2026 election. And ask them directly, “So do you have your plan to Vote?”

2.      Listen.   Hopefully that conversation opens up a fresh new exchange. Your friend may be more willing to share their hopes and anxieties than you imagined.  Your neighbor might surprise you with questions about how to vote ---- it is not a habit everyone learns. Or they may tell you why they are skeptical – listen attentively without judgment.  The first burst of pent-up frustration about politics can lead to a healthy engagement over time – and you gain insight on what’s actually motivating the people around you.

3.      Pick 3 Candidates to Support.  With the sheer number of great candidates running in multiple races you care about – it can get overwhelming.  But the more you feel passion and commitment internally, the more you will project that in your other conversations. One way to reduce the clutter is to commit to picking 3 specific candidates --- candidates you will support and pay attention to. They don’t have to be the front-runners, they don’t have to “have a chance”, and they don’t have to be the most important races on someone else’s list.  They just need to be 3 people who you can say “Yes, I like them.  I like what they said, and how they said it.  I’m in.”

4.      Put Out a Yard Sign.  Yard signs are commitment and early encouragement to vote. But most importantly, a yard sign is a conversation starter.  A neighbor who might be slowly warming up to progressive voting but unsure of where to go will see that You know something.  Even if they don’t come talk with you right away (or ever), you’ve told them something about the progressive values present in their community.  And the sign is also signal that you are someone who knows how to take action – you did get a sign, after all! (If you aren’t sure how to get a sign, read on…)

5.      Check-in on Yourself.  As a role model, it is important to check on yourself as well. Please act now to ensure that you are registered properly (easiest at https://www.ksvotes.org/) and make your plan now to vote. Will you vote early in person, join the fun on Election Day, or cast a mail-in ballot (be sure it gets there by close of poll on Election Day - the GOP took away your grace period). Speak openly about that plan and your past experiences voting — you are leading by example.

And Then

Once you are on this roll, there are some additional steps you can take to really empower yourself to be a voting ambassador to your friends and neighbors:

6.      Engage with your Local Democratic County Party. The local County Party is the gateway for you to meet like-minded people, learn about candidates, and do more formal structured work on engaging your neighbors. It is your linkage to the statewide Democratic Party. (It is where most people snag their yard signs.) If you are in a County with a strong and active party, seek out the volunteer coordinator and ask how to get involved. If you are unsure about the status of your county or how to engage – Contact Us and we can help link you.  Our Food and Farm Caucus, along with others, are very interested in helping teams of Democrats start and strengthen County parties.

7.      Volunteer for a Campaign.  All of these candidates – they really need you – and most of them are surprisingly accessible. Earlier we suggest you “pick 3” candidates to support --- and this is just the next step in making that support have impact. (Hint: You will also be first in line for Yard Signs)

8.      Host a House Party.  House parties are great ways to draw together a small circle of friends and neighbors to more officially declare your support for a candidate, talk politics --- and raise money.  They are easy to host – you need no one’s permission – and they are great ice-breakers. See more on House Parties, https://www.harvestblue.org/newsroom/house-party-how-to

9.      Become an Ambassador on the Voter-to-Voter App.  Kansas is blessed with a unique resource called Voter-to-Voter.  It is supported by the non-partisan Voter Network organization and is dedicated to helping individual Kansans become a voting ambassador to the friends and neighbors.  You can sign up as your own team, build a list of friends and contacts and get reminders and tips on how to encourage them to stay active and vote. The App links to the Secretary of State’s public information files and provide convenient summaries of your contact’s voting history, party registration and a “score” from the Voting Network on your contact’s likelihood to vote.  You can identify who in your network is a solid voter and who might need more nudging. 

(Note:  This app is distinctly different than other software used by campaigns and political parties. The Voter-to-Voter app is supported through non-partisan sources, does not required special connections to access, and is optimized and limited to meet the needs of citizens helping a small circle of friends).

We have a wonderful opportunity in 2026 to make a difference.  You don’t need anyone’s permission to start. We can all do our part.

PS: If someone in your life is not registered to vote, encourage them to register by July 14 so they can vote in the August Primary. This is also the last date to update registrations for changes in name or address. Kansans can register in person, online via the Ks Sec of State at https://sos.ks.gov/elections/important-election-dates.html or through the independent non-partisan service https://www.ksvotes.org/

PPS:  If someone in your life is registered with another party and they have decided it is time to switch to “D” – Welcome! But let them know the deadline to change their party registration if they want to vote for Democrats in August is coming very soon —- June 1 at noon!  If they are still unsure about changing, encourage them to at least switch to “Unaffiliated” as then they will have the choice of which ballot to pick when they go to vote in the primary. See same links above to change party affiliation.

PPPS:  Regardless of party, ALL registered Kansas voters can have a say on the Constitutional Amendments being offered at the August 4th primary – including the amendment on judicial elections. Democrats and independent-minded voters in Kansas warn that this amendment will open the floodgates of campaign spending on the Kansas Supreme Court by forcing the election of judges instead of the respected system Kansas currently uses. Voters are encouraged to Vote No. See more at Kansans United for an Impartial Court, here https://kuic.org/

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0. Article prepared on behalf of the Food and Farm Caucus of Kansas Dems PAC. Photo by Priscilla Du Preez 🇨🇦 on Unsplash