There are a number of ways Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach could improve the accuracy and integrity of the state’s election system. Creating a two-tiered voter registration system whereby some voters would be qualified to cast ballots only in federal races is not one of them. A recent Associated Press story focused on the efforts of a consortium of 22 states that are working to update their voter rolls. An effort to identify voters who are registered in more than one state is known as the “Kansas project” in recognition of the leadership of Kansas and Kobach. A second project, the Electronic Registration Information Center is working to identify registered voters who have died. The goal of the projects seems to be simply to improve the accuracy of voter registration rolls, which is a concept most people should support. Cleaning up their records to prevent abuses should be a top priority for both local and state election officials.
None of the multi-state programs, however, deal with the issue of verifying citizenship as part of the voter registration process. A new Kansas law that adds that requirement is causing the state and Kobach significant problems.
Since the proof-of-citizenship requirement went into effect, about 18,000 voter registration forms have been placed “in suspense” in Kansas, most of them because they are not accompanied by citizenship documentation. Many of those people have registered to vote at drivers license offices using a federal form, which carries no citizenship requirement.
Full Article: Editorial: Election confusion / LJWorld.com.