Kansas AG issues cease-and-desist to League of Women Voters over paid registrations

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach issued a cease-and-desist to the League of Women Voters of Kansas and its Leavenworth County chapter, ordering an immediate halt to any cash, gift-card, or other valuable incentives tied to voter registration or voting. The letter cited federal statutes that make paying individuals for registration or voting a crime punishable by up to $10,000 in fines and five years imprisonment, and noted that Kansas law mirrors these prohibitions.

The action was prompted by Facebook posts from the Leavenworth chapter advertising Starbucks gift-card giveaways to high-school students who registered to vote in May 2026. Kobach also instructed the League to retain all records of the activity and to disclose every occurrence of such payments. Republican House Elections Committee Chairman Pat Proctor, who first raised concerns, called the conduct “brazen” and warned that it undermines public confidence in elections. The League declined to comment, while legal experts noted that even well-intentioned voter-registration drives can inadvertently cross legal lines.