Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach said Wednesday that he has no plans to ask lawmakers to ban voters who registered with a federal form from casting ballots in state and local elections. Instead, he said he may appeal or ask a judge to reconsider a state court’s ruling last week that he had no legal right to institute the state’s “dual registration” system, in which those who register using a federal form that doesn’t require proof of U.S. citizenship may only vote in federal races. Under that system, voters may only cast ballots in state and local races if they register using the state form, which requires proof of citizenship.
“We believe that the judge has made a number of legal errors in his opinion and they will be corrected on appeal,” Kobach said. “The Kansas law is absolutely sound.”
The Republican contends existing law states plainly that a person who has not provided proof of citizenship shall not be registered, “and so we are complying with Kansas law and there is no constitutional or other problem with that law.”
But Dale Ho, director of American Civil Liberties Union voting rights project, said the court’s ruling is very clear: Kobach has no legislative to disallow federally registered voters from having a say in state and local races.
Full Article: Kobach: No plans to ask lawmakers for dual-registration law – Houston Chronicle.