With less than two months to go before the June 2 filing deadline for Kansas candidates seeking statewide or national office, questions about the upcoming election cycle abound. A U.S. District Court in Wichita ruled last month that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission must act immediately to modify federal voter registration forms to accommodate proof-of-citizenship laws in Kansas and Arizona. That decision has been appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by more than a dozen voting rights groups, including the League of Women Voters of the United States, Common Cause, Project Vote and the Inter Tribal Council of Arizona. Those appealing the decision also asked the Wichita judge to stay his own order while their appeal is being considered.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach indicated that such a stay is unlikely, but, if the request is granted, he will move forward on a plan to hold a two-tiered election in Kansas: one for people who have proved their citizenship and can vote in all the state and federal races and one for the relatively few people who registered with the federal form and would be allowed only to vote in federal races, which this year would be races for U.S. Congress.
In the meantime, the registrations of about 15,900 people who have not presented proof of citizenship are being held “in suspense” at the Kansas Secretary of State’s office. Those names have been forwarded to county election officers but it’s unclear how much progress is being made to obtain proof-of-citizenship on those registrations.
Full Article: Editorial: Election uncertainty / LJWorld.com.