A Logan County, Kan., man was convicted last week of an election crime and barred from holding public office in the state of Kansas, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt said.
On July 21, Clinton Lee Kvasnicka, 38, pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor count of disorderly election conduct and was sentenced by Judge Glenn R. Braun to 12 months probation with an underlying sentence of six months. He also was fined $1,000.
Because the conviction constituted violation of a penal statute involving a crime of moral turpitude, Kansas law requires that Kvasnicka forfeit his position as Logan County commissioner, and as part of the plea agreement he agreed immediately to resign his seat. He also is disqualified from holding a public office or position of trust in the state of Kansas, according to the attorney general’s office.
The state previously had charged Kvasnicka with election bribery, a felony, in connection with the matter, but in March a Logan County jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict on that charge, resulting in a mistrial. After the mistrial, the state and the defendant resolved the case by plea agreement, which resulted in last week’s conviction and sentencing.
In evidence presented at the trial, the state accused Kvasnicka of offering to let a constituent use a stock trailer he owned in exchange for her voting for him for county commissioner. The crime occurred in August 2012.
The case was investigated by the Kansas Bureau of Investigation. Assistant Attorney General Lyndzie Carter of Schmidt’s office prosecuted the case.