The law, which took effect in 2013, required anyone who registers to vote in the state to provide documentation of US citizenship such as a birth certificate or a passport.The decision is the latest in a series of defeats for the legislation, which, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, blocked more than 30,000 Kansans from registering to vote.A federal district court had struck down the law after finding that it violated the Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act. The state then appealed to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals.The three-judge panel on the appeals court wrote they were not persuaded by Kansas' argument that there was a problem of noncitizens attempting to register to vote. "In short, we conclude that the Secretary has failed to show that a substantial number of noncitizens successfully registered to vote," they wrote.Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said the group was "gratified the court struck (the law) down.""(We) now call upon Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab to turn the page on Kris Kobach's sorry legacy of voter suppression, drop any further appeals and work with us collaboratively in the interests of all Kansas voters," Ho said.Schwab, a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also agreed with the court's decision. "We are to be doing everything that we can to encourage voting," she said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that "eliminating any barriers to voting is a good thing." Kelly suggested that the state drop any further appeals of the law but noted that the "decision is not up to me."The law has spent many years under judicial review. In April 2018, a federal judge found Kobach in contempt of court for failing to comply with court orders in a case challenging the voting law. Two years prior, the same judge had ruled Kansas could not require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in certain circumstances.Kobach, a strong backer of President Donald Trump and a current Kansas Senate candidate, has previously made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud. He stated that voter fraud had taken place in the 2016 election in New Hampshire, a claim that the Read More – Source
The law, which took effect in 2013, required anyone who registers to vote in the state to provide documentation of US citizenship such as a birth certificate or a passport.The decision is the latest in a series of defeats for the legislation, which, according to the American Civil Liberties Union, blocked more than 30,000 Kansans from registering to vote.A federal district court had struck down the law after finding that it violated the Constitution and the National Voter Registration Act. The state then appealed to the 10th US Circuit Court of Appeals.The three-judge panel on the appeals court wrote they were not persuaded by Kansas' argument that there was a problem of noncitizens attempting to register to vote. "In short, we conclude that the Secretary has failed to show that a substantial number of noncitizens successfully registered to vote," they wrote.Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, said the group was "gratified the court struck (the law) down.""(We) now call upon Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab to turn the page on Kris Kobach's sorry legacy of voter suppression, drop any further appeals and work with us collaboratively in the interests of all Kansas voters," Ho said.Schwab, a defendant in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, also agreed with the court's decision. "We are to be doing everything that we can to encourage voting," she said at a news conference Wednesday, adding that "eliminating any barriers to voting is a good thing." Kelly suggested that the state drop any further appeals of the law but noted that the "decision is not up to me."The law has spent many years under judicial review. In April 2018, a federal judge found Kobach in contempt of court for failing to comply with court orders in a case challenging the voting law. Two years prior, the same judge had ruled Kansas could not require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in certain circumstances.Kobach, a strong backer of President Donald Trump and a current Kansas Senate candidate, has previously made unsubstantiated claims about voter fraud. He stated that voter fraud had taken place in the 2016 election in New Hampshire, a claim that the Read More – Source
