Kansas AG Kobach Issues Cease-and-Desist Over Gift-Card Offers Linked to Voting; Trump Calls Conduct a Criminal Offense

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach on October 31 sent a formal cease-and-desist letter to Bluestem Kansas, ordering the group to immediately halt any offers of gift cards or other incentives connected to voting in the November 3 general election and to preserve all related records.

The letter followed video evidence received that day from a Kansas voter. According to the Attorney General’s Office, a canvasser who identified himself as working with Bluestem Kansas offered the voter a $5 gift card if the voter told at least five friends to vote. The canvasser stated that he was attempting to read from a script but was interrupted before finishing. President Donald Trump, writing on Truth Social the following day, said Kobach had informed him of a “Radical Left PAC operative” caught on camera going door to door in Wichita offering gift cards for votes. “We have photographic evidence. This is a Criminal Offense!” Trump stated, directing the public to contact Kobach’s office at 785-296-2215 with any information.

The cease-and-desist, signed by Chief Deputy Attorney General Kurtis Wiard and addressed to L.J. Leatherman, Chairperson for Bluestem Fund, demanded four actions. The group must immediately cease offering cash, gift cards, or any other item of value in exchange for voting if such conduct is occurring; preserve all records, including electronic records, scripts used by canvassers, and associated financial records; identify every instance, with date and location, in which Bluestem or its agents distributed cash, gift cards, or other items of value in connection with voting; and respond in writing within 30 days confirming the information and stating whether the practices have stopped. The letter also stated that the matter is being referred to the United States Attorney for the District of Kansas for investigation and review, while reserving the state’s right to pursue enforcement action.

Under Kansas law, K.S.A. 25-2409, election bribery is defined as conferring, offering, or agreeing to confer any benefit as consideration for a person to vote or withhold a vote, or to vote for or against any candidate or question at a public election. It is a severity level 7 nonperson felony. The statute contains a narrow exception allowing a business or organization to provide a product valued at less than $3 to any person who asserts that they have voted, without regard to how they voted. Federal law, 52 U.S.C. § 10307(c), separately prohibits knowingly paying or offering to pay a person for registration to vote or for voting in an election that includes federal candidates. The statute contains no de minimis exception; violations are punishable by a fine of up to $10,000 and imprisonment of up to five years.

Kobach’s public statement described the reported activity as unprecedented in his experience with Kansas election enforcement. “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,” he 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.”

Bluestem Kansas is the public-facing name used by the Bluestem Foundation for Economic Freedom, a Topeka-based 501(c)(4) social welfare organization. Its stated mission includes educating Kansans on issues such as education, health care, jobs, and economic opportunity and encouraging civic participation. The Attorney General’s Office has asked any Kansan who was offered a gift card, cash, or other incentive by Bluestem Kansas or its canvassers to call 785-296-2215. Officials requested the date and location of the contact, what was offered, what the canvasser asked the person to do, and any photos, videos, or written materials left behind.

No charges had been announced as of Sunday night. The investigation remains active, and the cease-and-desist and Trump’s statement arrived days before the midterms. In September, Kobach’s office issued a separate cease-and-desist to the League of Women Voters of Kansas and its Leavenworth County chapter after public reports of $5 Starbucks gift cards offered to high school students who registered to vote; that matter was also referred for federal review. The Attorney General’s Office has not indicated whether the current Bluestem inquiry involves any additional reported incidents beyond the October 31 video.