Just a year ago, Kris Kobach, Secretary of State in Kansas was caught distributing voter information guides with incorrect and different information to Spanish speaking residents. After a loss in court over the state form, the Secretary of State had a responsibility to make sure the residents of Kansas were properly informed as to what they needed to do in order to vote. Alas, Kris Kobach managed to muck that up and Stephen Koranda of Kansas Public Radio got the goods:
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As of Tuesday, the deadline to register to vote for the primary elections on Aug. 1, the website contained conflicting information on the Kansas proof-of-citizenship rule.
In accordance with a federal court order issued last October, some parts of the KSSOS.org site, and associated state websites, have been updated. The new language clarifies that voters using the federal registration form aren’t currently subject to the proof-of-citizenship rule and can vote in all races.
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“If you are a new Kansas voter on and after January 1, 2013, include your U.S. citizenship document regardless of which application form you use... If you use the federal form and you do not provide a citizenship document, then you will be registered to vote only for federal offices and not for state and local elections.”
This statement, contained within the Secretary of State’s FAQ on voting rights in Kansas is, well, wrong. Kobach, who tried to institute strict document checks in Kansas as unable to advance new legislation in the past session, meaning Secretary of State Kobach’s plan currently isn’t in place.
During testimony in the state house earlier in the year to advance a voting suppression agenda, Kobach faced significant pushback from advocates and elected officials — Republican and Democratic alike.
Secretary of State Kobach currently seeks the Governor’s position in Kansas while he spends a great deal of time working on national voting issues — which has so far resulted in a request for state data turned down by 44 states.