Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has filed three voter fraud cases he plans to prosecute, his office confirmed Tuesday. Wilson’s first court appearance is November. 3, while the Gaedtkes are scheduled to appear in court December. 3.
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Regardless as to whether charges are filed in the remaining fifteen cases, this goes to show how exceedingly rare in-person voter fraud is, and how its effect on our elections is completely nonexistent.
Details of the cases in the Kansas City area’s Johnson County and northwest Kansas’ Sherman County became public Tuesday. The counts against Wilson include “voting without being qualified” in the 2010 general election, the 2012 primary and the 2014 general election and “election perjury”, a felony. The Sherman County case alleges a man who voted there also voted in Colorado. Critics say Kobach’s concern about voter fraud is overblown. Kobach was granted special powers to prosecute voter fraud cases that localities declined to pursue – becoming the only secretary of state in the country with such power – and today he announced that he will finally use those powers…to prosecute three cases.
Kerry Gooch, executive director of the Kansas Democratic Party, criticized Kobach for blocking tens of thousands from voting “to find three people in five years”.
Kobach imposed a new rule requiring county election officials to cancel registrations that are incomplete for more than 90 days.
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The cases accuse Betty and Steven Gaedtke of voting without being lawfully registered to vote plus two counts of illegally filling out paperwork for an advance voting ballot, also misdemeanors.
