Jean Schodorf, a candidate for secretary of state, today criticized Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s ruling that Democratic Senate candidate Chad Taylor must stay on the ballot.
Taylor withdrew from the race yesterday.
According to Schodorf, Taylor had previously received confirmation from the assistant secretary of state that ruled the submission for withdrawal met the standards needed by the office.
“In order to withdraw his nomination, K.S.A. 25-306b(b) requires Mr. Taylor to declare that he is ‘incapable of fulfilling the duties of office if elected’ and to file a written request to remove his name from nomination within seven days after the meeting of the state board of canvassers for the final canvass of the primary election,” Kobach said in a news release. “The state board of canvassers met on August 27. A valid written request to withdraw was therefore required to be filed on or before September 3.
“After conferring with the office of the Kansas Attorney General, I have concluded that the written request filed by Mr. Taylor does not meet the requirements of K.S.A. 25-306b(b) because Mr. Taylor did not declare that he is incapable of fulfilling the duties of U.S. Senator if elected,” Kobach stated.
Schodorf stated:
“The office of Secretary of State is in shambles, led by the agenda of one man: Kris Kobach. While there are several in his office that are attempting to follow the rule of the law and are devoted to fair and impartial elections, Kris Kobach has made it his priority to ignore the law and force his whim onto Chad Taylor,” Schodorf said in a news release.
“The decision made by Kris Kobach shows us two things. The first is his partisan nature. Mr. Kobach does not act with the best intentions of Kansans in mind. He only considers what is best for his personal agenda. This stands directly against what is best for the people of Kansas.
“The second is the lack of leadership in the office. Mr. Kobach has decided to ignore the work done by those within his office in favor of implementing his own whims. This is not leadership, this is a lack of organization. This recent display shows how the office is not given the attention that it needs to function properly. Where is the leadership? The extremist right hand of the office does not seem to know what the other hand is doing.”