From the President of the KBA

Did you miss it?

by Charles E. Branson KBA President, 2020-2021

Screenshots from sessions held during the virtual 2020 KBA Annual Meeting!

Did you miss it?

Over 160 of you didn’t! Our virtual annual meeting was held on August 20 and 21. Despite some small technical difficulties on day two, the meeting was a great success! We heard from Governor Kelly and learned the state of the judiciary from Chief Justice Marla Luckert. There were entertaining ethics hours and fantastic training on unconscious bias, constitutional issues in public health and a review of U.S. Supreme Court Cases.

A key feature of our annual meeting was the celebration of the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment and the 150th anniversary of the 15th amendment. The fight for the right for women to vote had taken nearly 100 years for activist and reformers to win. Despite winning the right to vote 50 years sooner, it took until the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to remove the legal barriers to African Americans to freely vote in elections.

I remember my first time voting. It was November 1988. I can vividly remember walking into the retirement home a few blocks from my house and giving my name to the poll worker and walking into the strange metal frame voting booth surrounded by the red, white and blue striped curtains. I am proud to be able to say that I have never missed a major election and cannot think of many local elections where I did not exercise the ultimate expression of freedom by casting a vote for a candidate or a proposition.

Often times I would wonder, does my vote really count? Should I take the time to get up early and head to the polls or go on my lunch hour or even wait in line after work? Every now and then I see a reminder of what a vote means. During the primary in August, one of my local races came down to just three votes. This example may seem trite, but I am confident there were people who were relieved that they voted and other people cursing that they did not.

There are important deadlines coming up. October 13 is the last day to register to vote in the general election. October 14 is the first day of advance voting in person and by mail. October 27 is the deadline for voters to apply for an advance ballot by mail for the general election. Mail ballots must be postmarked on or before Election Day and must be received by your county clerk by November 6. And finally, for those that want to vote on Election Day polls are open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm on November 3.

If you have any doubt whether you are registered to vote at your current residence, you can always check your status at https://myvoteinfo.voteks.org/voterview/.

With elections come change. You can always count on your membership with the Kansas Bar Association to provide you with timely information and updates about the legislative session and changes in the law that could impact your practice or your clients. You can also stay in the know by reading our Legislative Blog—The Advocate and by following legislation you are interested in with our bill tracking. The KBA remains your partner in the profession. n

About the Author

Charles E. Branson is the President of the Kansas Bar Association for 2020-2021. He is the Douglas County District Attorney, Before running for election in 2004, Branson was in private practice in Lawrence; his practice focused on the areas of criminal and civil litigation. A long-time active member of the KBA, Branson has served on the Executive Committee of the Board of Governors, has been the KBA Representative on the Board of Trustees of the Kansas Bar Foundation, and has also been a member of the KBA Bench-Bar Committee and the KBF Scholarship Committee. Charles and his wife Kathy have two children, Chance and Grace, and are very proud to call Lawrence and Douglas County their home.

CBranson@ksbar.org

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