Michael Kerner's Issue Positions (Political Courage Test)
Key
Official Position: Candidate addressed this issue directly by taking the Political Courage Test.
Inferred Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, but Vote Smart inferred this issue based on the candidate's public record, including statements, voting record, and special interest group endorsements.
Unknown Position: Candidate refused to address this issue, or we could not infer an answer for this candidate despite exhaustive research of their public record.
Additional Information: Click on this icon to reveal more information about this candidate's position, from their answers or Vote Smart's research.
Other or Expanded Principles & Legislative Priorities are entered exactly as candidates submit them. Vote Smart does not edit for misspelled words, punctuation or grammar.
Michael Kerner did not provide voters with positions on key issues covered by the 2022 Political Courage Test, despite repeated requests from Vote Smart and voters like you.
This candidate has responded to a Political Courage Test in a previous election. As a continued effort to provide the American public with factual information on candidates running for public office, these archived responses are made available here.
Kansas State Legislative Election 2020 Political Courage Test
| Pro-life | a) Do you generally support pro-choice or pro-life legislation? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support legalizing abortion when the pregnancy resulted from incest or rape? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the prohibition of public funds for organizations that perform abortions? | ||
| I understand that under current legal conditions, abortion cannot be made illegal under any circumstances. If I had the power, I would limit it to very few special circumstances that do not include the convenience of the parents. I would recommend adoption for those instances. | |||
| Yes | a) In order to balance the budget, do you support reducing state employee salaries AND/OR pensions? | ||
| No | b) In order to balance the budget, do you support an income tax increase on any tax bracket? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support lowering the state sales tax on groceries? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the creation of a tax on internet streaming services? | ||
| No | e) Do you support prohibiting the reallocation of funds designated for highway projects? | ||
| I believe that taxation is generally to be considered as theft. Citizens should be paying for services they want to pay for and no others. | |||
| No | a) Do you support a limit on campaign contributions to state candidates? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the regulation of indirect campaign contributions from corporations and unions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support the use of an independent AND/OR bipartisan commission for redistricting? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support requiring a government-issued photo identification in order to vote at the polls? | ||
| No | e) Do you support automatic voter registration? | ||
| I believe that election cheating is far more common than generally understood. | |||
| No | a) Do you support capital punishment for certain crimes? | ||
| Yes | b) Should an individual under 18 accused of a violent crime be prosecuted as an adult? | ||
| No | c) Do you support the enforcement of federal immigration laws by state and local police? | ||
| No | d) Do you support the use of private prisons in Kansas? | ||
| No | e) Do you support mandatory minimum sentences for non-violent drug offenders? | ||
| I would favor ending the drug war and its related civil asset forfeiture and no-knock raids. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state government spending as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support lowering state income taxes as a means of promoting economic growth? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support reducing government regulations on the private sector? | ||
| No | d) Do you support requiring welfare applicants to pass a drug test in order to receive benefits? | ||
| No | e) Do you support an increase of the minimum wage of Kansas? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring employers to provide paid family leave? | ||
| Yes | g) Do you support providing financial relief to businesses AND/OR corporations negatively impacted by the state of national emergency for COVID-19? | ||
| Yes | h) Do you support the legalization of mobile sports betting and wagering? | ||
| The lock-downs and restrictions put in place over Covid-19 where a drastic overreaction. It is not possible to compensate all that has been lost by people and businesses. At least let us learn the lesson and ensure no government does anything so stupid in the future. I would support a state constitutional amendment to ensure that. | |||
| No | a) Do you support adopting federal education standards in Kansas? | ||
| Yes | b) Do you support state funding for charter schools? | ||
| No | c) Do you support increasing teacher salaries AND/OR benefits in Kansas? | ||
| Yes | d) Should immigrants unlawfully present in the United States who graduate from Kansas high schools be eligible for in-state tuition at public universities? | ||
| Teacher salaries should be determined by market conditions, not legislative fiat. | |||
| No | a) Do you support state funding for the development of renewable energy (e.g. solar, wind, geo-thermal)? | ||
| No | b) Do you support government regulations of greenhouse gas emissions? | ||
| Yes | c) Do you support increasing state funding for clean drinking water initiatives? | ||
| d) Other or expanded principles: | |||
| No | a) Do you generally support gun-control legislation? | ||
| No | b) Should background checks be required on gun sales between private citizens at gun shows? | ||
| Yes | c) Should teachers be allowed to bring guns into the classroom after passing gun safety training? | ||
| No | d) Should a license be required for gun ownership? | ||
| Any restrictions on gun ownership just give a free hand to criminals. | |||
| No | a) Should the state government increase funding for treatment facilities to combat opioid abuse? | ||
| No | b) Do you support Medicaid expansion through Kansas' health care programs? | ||
| No | c) Do you support requiring individuals to purchase health care insurance? | ||
| Yes | d) Do you support legislation that grants citizens the right to choose to die through euthanasia? | ||
| No | e) Do you support eliminating religious exemptions for vaccinations? | ||
| No | f) Do you support requiring businesses to provide paid medical leave during public health crises, such as COVID-19? | ||
| I support individual freedom. That means, among other things, no mandatory vaccinations. | |||
| No | a) Do you support the inclusion of sexual orientation in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | b) Do you support the inclusion of gender identity in Kansas' anti-discrimination laws? | ||
| No | c) Do you support greater efforts by Kansas state government in closing the pay gap between men and women? | ||
| No | d) Do you support expanding anti-discrimination laws to include hair textures and protective hairstyles? | ||
| I do not support antidiscrimination laws for any classification. We can learn from other states how they can be weaponized. | |||
| I do not propose defunding police but I do want them under tighter control. That includes: No more Qualified Immunity, no more civil forfeiture, no more drug war, no more no-knock raids. I also want to lower taxes significantly and reduce the education budget to what it was before the state Supreme Court interfered. I would offer vouchers at 80% of average cost to offset the cost. Criminal justice reform: We have an overcrowded prison system because of non-violent offenders getting long, undeserved, sentences. | |||
| I will put criminal justice reform as the most urgent. It won't cost anything. My reforms will save large amounts of money, allowing some more tax cuts. |
Vote Smart does not permit the use of its name or programs in any campaign activity, including advertising, debates, and speeches.