No proof of citizenship needed: Judge strikes down Kansas voter ID law, scolds pro-Trump Sec of State

Kevin Daley, DCNF

American politician Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as he speaks during a fundraiser for his gubernatorial campaign at an unidentified senior citizens center, Emporia, Kansas, October 28, 2017. (Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images) — (Photo by Mark Reinstein/Corbis via Getty Images)

A federal judge in Kansas City struck down a state law Monday requiring Kansas voters to show proof of citizenship before casting ballots.

U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, a George W. Bush appointee, found the statute unlawfully burdens ballot access for eligible voters, in violation of the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) and the Constitution.

“The court determines that the magnitude of potentially disenfranchised voters impacted by the law and its enforcement scheme cannot be justified by the scant evidence of noncitizen voter fraud before and after the law was passed, by the need to ensure the voter rolls are accurate, or by the state’s interest in promoting public confidence in elections,” the judge wrote.

Robinson went on to maintain that prohibiting eligible citizens from voting because they lack proper identification did more to damage public confidence in the electoral process than voter fraud.

The law at issue was championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, an ally of President Donald Trump who is seeking the GOP nomination for governor. Kobach’s office did not issue a statement on the ruling by press time.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) organized a challenge to the law, which they cast as another iteration of a broader voter suppression effort.

“This decision is a stinging rebuke of Kris Kobach, and the centerpiece of his voter suppression efforts: a show-me-your-papers law that has disenfranchised tens of thousands of Kansans,” said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s voting rights project. “That law was based on a xenophobic lie that noncitizens are engaged in rampant election fraud. The court found that there is ‘no credible evidence’ for that falsehood, and correctly ruled that Kobach’s documentary proof-of-citizenship requirement violates federal law and the Constitution.”

In a separate, scathing portion of the decision, the judge pilloried Kobach for failing to comply with judicial rules of procedure and discovery. Though staff attorneys typically represent the state in court, Kobach chose to personally defend the law.

“It is not clear to the court whether [Kobach] repeatedly failed to meet his disclosure obligations intentionally or due to his unfamiliarity with the federal rules,” Robinson wrote. “Therefore, the court finds that an additional sanction is appropriate in the form of Continuing Legal Education (CLE).” Attorneys are required to periodically complete CLE courses to maintain their law licenses.

The judge went on chide Kobach for his apparent unfamiliarity with procedural rules, and his failure to share information with the plaintiffs.

Follow Kevin on Twitter

For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact [email protected].

DONATE TO BIZPAC REVIEW

Please help us! If you are fed up with letting radical big tech execs, phony fact-checkers, tyrannical liberals and a lying mainstream media have unprecedented power over your news please consider making a donation to BPR to help us fight them. Now is the time. Truth has never been more critical!