Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has demanded that a second left-wing organization cease paying incentives to voters.
On Oct. 31, 2026, Kobach sent a cease-and-desist letter to Bluestem Kansas demanding the group immediately stop offering voters incentives tied to voting in the November 3 general election.
According to a release from Kobach’s office, the action follows the receipt of evidence on October 31 from a Kansas voter who was offered a $5 gift card. The canvasser who offered the monetary incentive to the voter identified himself as working with Bluestem Kansas.
Both federal and state law prohibit offering anything of value in exchange for voting.
Under Kansas law, election bribery includes giving, offering or agreeing to give a benefit in exchange for voting at a public election. It is a severity level 7, nonperson felony. Federal law, separately, makes it a crime to pay or offer to pay anyone for voting in an election that includes federal candidates.
The letter also directs Bluestem Kansas to preserve all documents, communications and records related to its canvassing efforts and to any offer of gift cards or other incentives to voters. This includes emails, text messages, scripts, training materials, payment records and communications with vendors and canvassers.
“As attorney general and before that as secretary of state, I have prosecuted many cases of voter fraud in Kansas, including voting by non-citizens and double voting,” Kobach said. “But I never thought that a group in Kansas would be so brazen as to go door-to-door three days before a general election offering voters monetary incentives. This sounds like Chicago in the 1950s, not Kansas in the 2020s. As long as I am attorney general, those who violate our election laws will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
League of Women Voters also flagged for influencing voters
As The Sentinel previously reported, in late September Kobach directed the League of Women Voters of Kansas to cease paying people to register to vote.
According to a letter Kobach sent to LWVK, his office was notified that at a May 2026 registration event in Leavenworth County, the group distributed gift cards to individuals in exchange for registering to vote.
According to a release from Kobach’s office, public posts from the local League chapter advertised and depicted the distribution of $5 Starbucks gift cards to students who registered to vote, including a table sign reading, “Register to vote get a $5 Starbucks gift card.”
United States Attorney for the District of Kansas Ryan Kriegshauser’s office confirmed to The Sentinel that they had been notified of the referral.
The National League of Women Voters responded to the letter.
“The League of Women Voters is aware of the allegations regarding a voter registration event conducted by the League of Women Voters of Leavenworth County and the Kansas Attorney General’s inquiry,” the statement read. “We understand that League leadership in Kansas is cooperating fully with the inquiry. The League is committed to complying with all federal, state, and local election laws governing voter registration activities.”
“Compliance with all federal, state, and local election laws is a fundamental expectation of League voter registration activities nationwide.”
As part of its investigation, the Attorney General’s Office is asking for the public’s help. Any Kansan who was offered a gift card, cash or any other incentive by Bluestem Kansas or its canvassers is asked to contact the office at 785-296-2215. Helpful details include the date and location of the contact, what was offered, what the canvasser asked the voter to do, any photos or videos of the exchange, and written materials that the canvasser left behind.
