Government & PolicyBreakingUpdated 5 days ago

Appeals Court Upholds Kansas Ban on Third-Party Prefilled Mail Ballot Applications

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, all right-leaning.

3 articles in total. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Image via The Epoch TimesHow images are chosen Report this image

The Federalist, The Epoch Times and Reason report that a unanimous three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a Kansas law barring private parties from partially prefilling applications for mail ballots before they are sent to registered voters. The outlets say the panel reversed a district court that had found the law was enacted to suppress speech supporting mail-in voting, and applied intermediate scrutiny to find it constitutional. The Kansas legislature passed the law in 2021 over the veto of Governor Laura Kelly. VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center had sued, arguing the law infringed on First Amendment speech rights.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

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The coverage spectrum counts the outlets covering a story at each of five points. A short or missing segment means that part of the spectrum is mostly quiet.

Governor Loaded verb“slams”It adds drama to what was said. The governor criticized the lawmakers; “slams” makes it sound like a fight.More neutral: criticizes lawmakers over budget delay

Highlights mark words that carry a judgement. Tap one to see why, and what a neutral writer would say. Here it is “criticizes”.

The 5-point spectrum

Far Left
Voices that strongly advocate for progressive policies and systemic change.
Left
Mainstream liberal perspectives focusing on social equality and regulation.
Center
Sources that prioritize neutral reporting and balanced viewpoints.
Right
Mainstream conservative perspectives focusing on market freedom and tradition.
Far Right
Voices that strongly advocate for conservative values and limited government.

How we measure bias

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

A three-judge panel of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld the Kansas law barring private parties from partially prefilling mail ballot applications.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
Reason
Far Right
The Federalist, The Epoch Times
The panel ruled unanimously, and its opinion was written by Judge Timothy Tymkovich.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
Reason
Far Right
The Federalist, The Epoch Times
The Kansas legislature passed the law in 2021, overriding the veto of Governor Laura Kelly.
One side only: the rightReported byFar Right2See the outletsHide the outlets
Far Right
The Federalist, The Epoch Times
According to the court, the law was meant to reduce voter confusion and increase confidence in elections.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
Reason
Far Right
The Epoch Times
A district court had ruled the law was enacted to suppress speech supporting mail-in voting, and the appeals court reversed that ruling.
One outletReason· Right
VoteAmerica and the Voter Participation Center sued, arguing the law violated First Amendment speech rights.
One side only: the rightReported byRight1Far Right1See the outletsHide the outlets
Right
Reason
Far Right
The Federalist

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

The Kansas law was enacted to suppress speech supporting mail-in voting.
The district court found an improper purpose, inferring it from the political reaction against mail-in voting and Kansas's failure to prove an adequate fit between its interests and the law. The Tenth Circuit reversed, saying the district court found an improper purpose without evidence from the law's justifications, text or legislative history.

How each side tells it

Compare views

The Federalist, The Epoch Times and Reason report that a unanimous three-judge panel upheld Kansas's ban on third parties prefilling mail ballot applications. The main difference is tone: The Federalist's description calls the ruling a win for election integrity, while the other two outlets' headlines report the holding neutrally.

the left
No coverage yet
No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the center
No coverage yet
No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.
the right
3 outlets
Headlines report the appeals court upholding Kansas's ban on prefilled applications; The Federalist's description calls it a win for election integrity, while the Reason and Epoch Times headlines stay neutral.
Court Upholds Kansas Ban on Prefilled Ballot Applications
The Epoch TimesFar RightAll right-leaning headlines

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

Left
Has not covered this story.
Center
Has not covered this story.
Right1
win for election integrity

In the outlets’ own words

Partisan shorthand
win for election integrityMore neutral: a ruling in favor of the state law
Calling the ruling a win for election integrity adopts one side's name for the law instead of describing what the court decided.
In a win for election integrity, a federal appellate court upheld on Wednesday a Kansas law prohibiting…
Used byThe Federalist (Far Right)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

Loaded verb
Quoted
flooded votersMore neutral: were sent to voters in large numbers
The verb presents mailed applications as an overwhelming flood, a dramatic image for a claim the excerpt does not test.
“Kansas acted after error-filled, prefilled mail-ballot applications flooded voters and overwhelmed county election officials in 2020.
Quoted byThe Federalist (Far Right)
These are Jason Snead’s words. The outlets are reporting them.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

0 outlets

No left-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the center

0 outlets

No center outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

From the right

3 outlets

Leads with

Court upholding the Kansas ban
Protecting voters from confusion
Restriction on third-party prefilling

See the 3 headlines from the rightHide the headlines

The Epoch TimesFar Right
Court Upholds Kansas Ban on Prefilled Ballot Applications
The law was passed to prevent voter confusion.
5 days agoRead at The Epoch Times (opens in a new tab)
The FederalistFar Right
Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms
In a Partisan shorthand“win for election integrity”Calling the ruling a win for election integrity adopts one side's name for the law instead of describing what the court decided.More neutral: a ruling in favor of the state lawDisagree with this highlight?, a federal appellate court upheld on Wednesday a Kansas law prohibiting third-party groups from sending voters pre-filled absentee ballot applications. …
6 days agoRead at The Federalist (opens in a new tab)
ReasonRight
Kansas Ban on Private Parties' Partially Prefilling Voters' Mail Ballot Applications Upheld
A short excerpt from today's longish Tenth Circuit opinion in VoteAmerica v. Schwab, by Judge Timothy Tymkovich, joined by Judges…
Oct 14, 2026Read at Reason (opens in a new tab)

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

Left
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Center
No report yet
From the outlets Mantle follows
Right
First to report
Reason, Oct 14, 5:56 PM EDT

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order

ReasonRightOct 14, 5:56 PM EDT
The FederalistFar RightOct 15, 3:59 PM EDT
The Epoch TimesFar RightOct 16, 8:19 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Appeals Court Upholds Kansas Ban on Third-Party Prefilled Mail Ballot Applications

Coverage spectrum

Key points

Where accounts differ

Compare views

the left

the center

the right

Language to notice

In the outlets’ own words

Side by side

From the left

From the center

From the right

Court Upholds Kansas Ban on Prefilled Ballot Applications

Court: Kansas Can Stop Third Parties From Sending Voters Pre-Filled Mail-In Ballot Forms

Kansas Ban on Private Parties' Partially Prefilling Voters' Mail Ballot Applications Upheld

How the coverage built up

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