- The recent Kansas vote to allow abortion in the state is to be recounted by hand.
- Melissa Leavitt has lobbied for the recount, citing that she has "seen data."
- There has been no evidence of any issues with the vote.
The recent Kansas vote to allow abortion in the state is to be recounted by hand after a civilian request, even though there was a 165,000-vote difference in favor of allowing abortion, AP reports.
On August 3, Kansas voters resoundingly rejected an amendment that, if passed, would have established no right to abortion or public funding for abortion under the state constitution. It was hailed as a victory by pro-choice campaigners in the solidly red state. It came weeks after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.
Despite the significant vote margin, Melissa Leavitt of Colby from western Kansas has lobbied the state government for a recount. She organized an online fundraiser saying she had "seen data" regarding the vote, alluding to the fact there may be issues.
"I have seen data in the week following our election in Kansas that there were irregularities the night of August 2," she wrote.
There has been no evidence suggesting any issues with the conduct of the abortion vote.
Leavitt also said, "I have never done an audit like this, but I believe that God has put us all here for such a time as this to stand up and fight for our nation."
While a recount has been approved, however, it cannot go ahead until Leavitt is able to present a bond to cover the cost of the recount, roughly estimated to be worth $200,000. So far, Leavitt has raised less than $8,000.
Bryan Caskey, state elections director for the Kansas secretary of state's office, said, "We stand by the results and will do the recount," AP reports.
Caskey also added this would be the first recount of the votes on a statewide ballot question in at least 30 years.
Conspiracies and belief in misinformation related to voter fraud have had a stronghold on Americans since 2019, with an Axios-Momentive poll showing that over 40% of Americans still reject the notion that Biden was legitimately elected, despite no evidence of widespread voter fraud.