Most states allow people to register by simply signing a statement affirming they are citizens and providing a driver’s license number, Social Security number or other proof of residency. The current system in place for Kansas elections would allow thousands of suspended voters to cast ballots only in federal elections, not state or local ones.
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A portion of a lawsuit filed against Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach on Tuesday by Kansas residents and the state chapter of the ACLU claims that a 2013 law and a new regulation that prevents some voters from casting ballots in state races are illegal and unconstitutional.
It comes in response to a federal judge’s recent decision that voters do not need to show citizenship papers to register for federal elections as required by a 2013 Kansas law.
In addition, the lawsuit seeks to restore full voting rights to another 383 Kansas residents who used a federal form to register. The conservative Republican argues the tough laws on voting eligibility are needed to protect elections against fraud, but critics contend such restrictions are unnecessary and suppress voter turnout particularly among the young and minority voters. The judge ordered Kansas to register roughly 17,000 suspended voters.
Kansas requires registrants to prove their citizenship by providing one of a series of documents, including birth certificates and passports.
“The dual registration system divides registered voters in Kansas into two separate and unequal classes, with vastly different rights and privileges based on nothing more than the method of registration that a voter uses and the date on which the voter applies to register”, the lawsuit states. Newby, a former elections commissioner for Johnson County, had been appointed to his previous Kansas post by Kobach. Kobach later joins the lawsuit on Newby’s behalf.
“[Kobach] found time last week to do actual damage to Kansans with a devious, 11th-hour policy that would disqualify 17,000 of them as state voters, even though they are allowed by law to vote in federal elections”, the Times editorial board wrote.
Robinson temporarily blocked Kansas from enforcing its law against people who registered at motor vehicle offices, finding it likely violates the National Voter Registration Act. The League of Women Voters subsequently appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. That four-month window covers November 8 – election day.
July 12, 2016: The State Rules and Regulation Board in Kansas issues a temporary rule proposed by Kobach that orders election officials to only count votes cast for federal races and not state and local races from Kansas voters who registered at motor vehicle offices without providing citizenship documents.
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The ACLU challenged the legality of the system in a Shawnee County court filing Tuesday.
