Reports that Kansas discarded provisional voter ballots in the 2016 election at a rate higher than almost any other state is further proof that Kansas should not be the model to follow in establishing federal election guidelines. Kansas becoming an election model for the country wasn’t a real concern until President Donald Trump appointed Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the architect of Kansas’ voting policies, co-chairman of Trump’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Kobach is the architect of some of the nation’s most restrictive voter registration policies. The requirements to register to vote require extensive documentation and are most burdensome on poor and elderly voters. New data from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission show just how effective those policies have been, not only at keeping people from the polls in Kansas, but also challenging their ballots once they do turn out.
Provisional ballots are given to any voter whose legitimacy to vote is questioned. The voter is allowed to cast a ballot, but the ballot is flagged for later review to determine if the ballot, or a portion of the ballot, will be counted. The U.S. Election Assistance Commission data shows that Kansas discarded 13,717 provisional ballots in the 2016 election.
Only six states — Arizona, California, New York, North Carolina, Ohio and Texas — discarded more votes than Kansas. The states that discarded more votes than Kansas all rank in the top 10 nationally in population; Kansas ranks 33rd.
Full Article: Editorial: Kansas voting no role model / LJWorld.com.