Federal Lawsuit Against Kansas Secretary Of State For Massive Voter Registration Purge

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach

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Federal lawsuit filed against Kansas Secretary of State for massive voter registration purge

Jen Hayden

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Kris Kobach, the worst Secretary of State in the nation, is now facing a federal lawsuit over his decision to suspend the voting rights of 37,000 Kansas residents. The lawsuit was filed byformer Kansas gubernatorial candidate Paul Davis:

The state enacted a requirement that beginning in 2013, prospective voters must provide proof of citizenship, such as a passport or birth certificate, when they register to vote – a policy Kobach championed.

Since the law went into effect, nearly 37,000 voters have been left in suspended registration status. For perspective, Davis lost to Gov. Sam Brownback in the last election by fewer than 33,000 votes. Davis said he didn’t think proof of citizenship affected the outcome of the election.

Kobach has moved forward with a new rule, set to take effect on Friday, that would remove a person’s name from the list if he or she failed to show proof of citizenship after 90 days. Kobach has said the policy will save county election offices money, but his critics accuse him of trying to purge the list.

More on the basis of the lawsuit:

Davis, along with attorney Will Lawrence, is representing Douglas County residents Alder Cromwell and Cody Keener in the lawsuit. In an interview, Davis said the two men were in their late teens and early 20s and seeking to register to vote for the first time.

The lawsuit says the requirement that individuals provide proof of citizenship to register is “overly broad,” infringes on their rights to participate in elections and isn’t narrowly tailored to a compelling state interest.

The lawsuit also alleges the 90-day elimination rule violates the National Voter Registration Act. The lawsuit says the rule will unlawfully remove Cromwell from the statewide voter registration database even though Kansas is required to place him in the database as a valid voter under the federal law.

Needless to say, the Kansas Democratic Party is all in:

"Today's lawsuit is an effort to prevent Kris Kobach from preventing even more Kansans from voting. There are real consequences to our democracy when a politician like Secretary Kobach denies citizens their basic freedoms. Kansans deserve a secretary of state focused on helping people across the state vote – not one obsessed with putting up road blocks and preventing law-abiding citizens from participating in our democracy. Today the Kansas Democratic Party stands in support of these voters who are seeking to protect the rights of all Kansans."

Paul Davis told reporters this is not related to his failed campaign against Governor Sam Brownback:

“I don’t believe that it would have impacted the outcome of my race, and I’m not trying to have another campaign occur here,” Davis said, “but I do, having served in the Legislature and having been on the ballot for elections both for state representative and governor, I understand how important voting rights are and the fact that we need to be able to protect what clearly has been outlined as a fundamental constitutional right.”