Voting rolls in Kansas are in “chaos” because of the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements, the American Civil Liberties Union has argued in a court document, noting that about two-thirds of new voter registration applications submitted during a three-week period in February are on hold. Kansas is fending off multiple legal challenges from voting rights activists, and just months before the state’s August primary, the status of the “dual registration” system remains unclear. Federal judges in separate voter-registration lawsuits unfolding in Kansas and Washington, D.C., could rule at any time. There’s also greater urgency because registrations typically surge during an election year. Kansas is one of four states, along with Georgia, Alabama and Arizona, to require documentary proof of citizenship — such as a birth certificate, passport or naturalization papers — to register to vote. Under Kansas’ challenged system, voters who registered using a federal form, which hadn’t required proof of U.S. citizenship, could only vote in federal races and not in state or local races. Kansas says it will keep the dual voting system in place for upcoming elections if the courts allow its residents to register to vote either with a federal form or at motor vehicle offices without providing proof of citizenship.
… On Jan. 15, a Shawnee County District Court judge ruled Kobach has no authority to bar voters who use a federal form to register from casting ballots in local and state elections. The judge also said the right to vote is not tied to the method of registration. Two weeks later, the new executive director of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission unilaterally — and without approval of the commission — required citizenship documentation on the federal registration form for voters in Kansas, Georgia and Alabama. Kobach has argued the dual voting system is no longer needed and asked a state court to reconsider its earlier ruling as moot. The judge has yet to rule on that request.
The League of Women Voters, joined by other voting rights groups, filed a lawsuit Feb. 12 against EAC head Brian Newby and the EAC, contending his action will hurt voter registration drives and deprive eligible voters of the right to vote in the presidential primary elections. A ruling is pending in federal court in Washington over a requested temporary order to block the changes for the three states.
Full Article: ACLU: Two-Thirds of New Kansas Voter Registrations on Hold – ABC News.