Candidates weigh in on the proof of citizenship issue at forum
by Mary Rupert
Tuesday, Oct. 18, is the deadline in Kansas to register to vote in the Nov. 8 election, and some candidates were asked at the Monday night election forum if the state’s voter law should be changed.
A federal judge ruled recently that Kansas in the Nov. 8 election must accept the federal voter registration form without requiring proof of citizenship.
At the election forum, incumbent state Sen. Steve Fitzgerald, R-5th Dist., said he supported the Kansas voting law the way it is now. He was not in office when the law passed in 2011 to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote, and to require identification when voting.
Sen. Fitzgerald said his reading of the U.S. Constitution was that requirements of being a voter were up to the state and were not a federal area. He said he supported the state’s right to “make sure when we vote as citizens in Kansas, we’re the only ones voting.”
Democratic challenger Bill Hutton said he thinks the federal voter registration form, which requires individuals to state under penalty of perjury that they are citizens, is sufficient. He supports voters having to show some form of identification at the polls. He said he supports senior citizens being allowed to show an expired driver’s license as identification. That is currently allowed under the law.
State. Sen. Pat Pettey, D-6th Dist., said she was happy to see that the courts had intervened allowing people to vote in Kansas. She said there was very little proof of anyone abusing the right to vote. She said the state should be looking for ways to increase the number of people voting.
Jason Conley, a Libertarian candidate for the state Senate, 6th District, said he wasn’t strongly opposed to proof of citizenship and voter identification, but he wants as many people to vote as possible. He doesn’t think it’s too much to prove you’re a citizen. If the state requires proof, it should be an easy process that doesn’t cost very much money, he said.
The candidate forum, sponsored by Business West, neighborhood organizations and Kansas City Kansas Community College, was held at KCKCC.
Many other topics were discussed at the candidate forum Monday, including the state budget, school funding, Medicaid expansion, The Woodlands and other issues. The candidate forum will be shown on the KCKCC cable television channel at a future date.
More stories on the issues in Election 2016 will be published in the Wyandotte Daily in the days before the Nov. 8 general election.
For information on how to register to vote Tuesday, visit https://wyandotteonline.com/eight-things-to-know-if-you-want-to-vote-in-the-kansas-general-election/.
