Category: Election 2020

A federal appeals court says it is unconstitutional for Kansas to require proof of citizenship to vote

by Jim McLean, Kansas News Service

Topeka, Kansas — The Kansas law requiring people to prove they are U.S. citizens before registering to vote is unconstitutional, a federal court has ruled.

The decision handed down Wednesday by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel means that no proof of citizenship is needed ahead of this year’s August primary and November general elections.

It stymies an effort by the state to reinstate the law, which a lower court overturned in 2016 in response to a challenge filed by the American Civil Liberties Union. Kansas can choose to appeal or ask for an en banc ruling.

“This decision safeguarding the rights of over 30,000 Kansas voters — including our clients — to participate in the 2020 upcoming elections free from unconstitutional burdens is a victory for democracy in Kansas,” ACLU of Kansas Executive Director Nadine Johnson.

Kansas lawmakers passed the proof-of-citizenship law in 2013 at the urging of former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who at the time was building a national reputation for his efforts to combat what he claimed was pervasive voter fraud.

Later, as the leader of President Donald Trump’s now-defunct voter fraud commission, Kobach repeated the president’s unsubstantiated claim that millions of undocumented immigrants illegally voted in the 2016 election.

The appeals court said in its ruling that voter fraud isn’t a significant problem in Kansas. Between 1999 and 2013, a total of 39 non-citizens living in Kansas registered to vote, mostly due to administrative mistakes. At the time, that was 0.002% of the state’s more than 1.76 million registered voters.

The panel also said that both Kobach and his successor, current Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab, “failed to show that a substantial number of non-citizens registered to vote.”

The relatively few cases of fraud, the justices said, don’t justify the burden the law imposed on the 31,089 voters who had their registration applications canceled or suspended between 2013 and 2016.

Schwab, a Republican elected in 2018, issued a one-sentence statement Wednesday, saying his office was “thoroughly reviewing” the ruling and conferring with Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt on “how to move forward.”

Schwab and Schmidt have two options: appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or request an en banc ruling from all the justices on the 10th Circuit bench. Wednesday’s ruling was issued by two members of a three-member panel that heard arguments in 2019 (the third has died).

Kobach, who is running for the GOP nomination for a U.S. Senate seat, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. But on Twitter, he wrote that the decision was “the essence of judicial activism,” and that the U.S. Supreme Court would be “highly likely” to overturn the decision.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, urged Schwab to “turn the page on Kris Kobach’s sorry legacy of voter suppression” by not appealing the ruling.

Jim McLean is the senior correspondent for the Kansas News Service is a collaboration of KCUR, Kansas Public Radio, KMUW and High Plains Public Radio focused on health, the social determinants of health and their connection to public policy. You can reach him on Twitter @jmcleanks or email jim (at) kcur (dot) org.
Kansas News Service stories and photos may be republished by news media at no cost with proper attribution and a link to ksnewsservice.org.
See more at https://www.kcur.org/news/2020-04-29/federal-appeals-court-says-kansas-cant-demand-proof-of-citizenship-from-voters.

Candidate Bernie Sanders on Wednesday withdrew from the Democratic presidential campaign while some Kansas Democrats are participating in a mail-in ballot.

The Kansas Democratic Party today issued a statement that his withdrawal will not change the party’s primary currently underway.

The statement:

“Right now, Kansas is showing the nation how a vote-by-mail election can protect voters and our democracy at large during this uncertain time. Yesterday, we saw Republicans jeopardize public health and safety in Wisconsin by forcing thousands of voters to defy CDC guidelines in order to advocate for themselves at the ballot box. It is crucial we prevent this from occurring at the national level come November. To guarantee the basic principle that voters will not have to risk their livelihoods in order to vote, Kansas voters must prove that when we make our elections as inclusive, accessible, and safe as possible, voter turnout increases and our democracy thrives.

“Bernie Sanders’s decision to suspend his campaign will not change the Kansas 2020 Presidential Primary. The KDP has mailed over 370,000 ballots to registered Democrats and will send over 10,000 more throughout April. Along with all formally filed candidates, Bernie Sanders will remain on the ballot and Kansas voters can still choose to vote their preference on their ranked-choice ballots. If Bernie Sanders reaches the 15% viability threshold of the vote, he will be awarded Kansas delegates. It is then up to the Sanders campaign to determine whether to keep or redistribute any delegates received.

“On this new development, KDP Chair Vicki Hiatt commented:

“‘We recognize that many Kansas voters will be disappointed by today’s news that Bernie Sander’s has chosen to suspend his campaign. However, we cannot overstate the importance of voting by mail in the Kansas 2020 Primary. If we want to make sure voters have the option to vote-by-mail in future elections, especially for the November general election if the COVID-19 virus has not been contained, Kansans must prove that vote-by-mail keeps our communities safe and makes our democracy stronger. The KDP needs our members to step up to the plate now more than ever. Please make sure you vote, and then call your neighbors, family members and other loved ones to make sure they make their voices heard. Together, we will prove vote-by-mail must be prioritized at the local, state, and national level throughout the 2020 cycle to keep our communities safe and our democracy vibrant.’”

Kansas Democrats who have not received a ballot by April 10 may request a mail-in ballot by calling the KDP office or filling out an online form at https://kansasdems.org/request-mail-ballot. The form will not be available online until April 10.

The deadline to request a ballot is April 24. Voters should fill out the ballots and mail it in, so it is received by May 2, according to KDP officials.

For more information, visit www.kansasdems.org/2020Primary.

Kansas Democrats announced Monday that they would conduct the presidential primary completely by mail because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

There will be no in-person voting on May 2, according to the announcement.

Instead, all registered Democrats will receive a ballot in the mail, the announcement stated. Only registered Democrats will receive a ballot.

According to a news release, more than 10 percent of the polling places that were originally signed up as in-person sites have independently canceled their contract with the Kansas Democratic Party because of safety concerns about in-person voting and the novel coronavirus.

The candidates on the Kansas ballot will include Joseph R. Biden, Elizabeth Warren, Tulsi Gabbard, Bernie Sanders and uncommitted.

Ballots were mailed on March 30 to all registered Democrats in Kansas, according to the announcement. There is an official Democratic presidential primary ballot, a secrecy sleeve and return envelope to enclose and return. The ballots are prepaid and do not require a stamp.

On April 7, the Kansas Democratic Party will send a supplemental ballot mailing to recently registered Democrats who were not included in the March 30 mailing.

Registered Democrats who have not received their ballots by April 10 may request another mail-in ballot until April 24 by calling the KDP office or filling out an online form at https://kansasdems.org/request-mail-ballot. This form will not be available until April 10.

Voters should mail their ballots back so they may be received by May 2, according to party officials.

Vicki Hiatt, chair of the Kansas Democratic Party released this statement:

“Removing our in-person voting locations for the 2020 primary was an extremely difficult decision to make but the unprecedented gravity of COVID-19 has required significant changes to our operations to ensure the safety of all Kansans during this electoral process,” Hiatt stated. “The KDP maintains its commitment to a fair and transparent election and I want to assure all concerned Kansans that we are doing everything possible to make sure their voices are heard in the 2020 Primary. Kansas was already well-positioned for this pandemic due to our vote-by-mail component and we are confident that the changes we have made to our schedule will expand the accessibility of this process for all voters who would like to participate in the 2020 Primary election.”