Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach urged President Donald Trump to pursue changes to federal voting law to promote proof-of-citizenship requirements, according to documents unsealed Thursday by a federal judge. Kobach, a candidate for Kansas governor and the vice chair of Trump’s voting commission, was photographed carrying a strategic plan for the Department of Homeland Security into a meeting with Trump in November. The American Civil Liberties Union sought the documents as part of an ongoing lawsuit challenging a Kansas law that requires voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, when they register. Kobach was ordered to turn over the documents to the ACLU earlier this year, but the documents had been sealed until Judge Julie Robinson opened them Thursday.
The documents have been heavily redacted, but one of the bullet points in Kobach’s presentation to Trump was a suggestion to draft an amendment to the National Voter Registration Act to “promote proof-of-citizenship requirements.”
Kobach contends that the proof-of-citizenship policy prevents non-citizens from voting, but critics say it actually ends up disenfranchising rightful voters as well.
The judge also unsealed a draft amendment that Kobach had circulated within his office that would have added a line to the federal voter law that said states could request any information from voters they deem necessary.
Full Article: Kobach plan for Trump included federal voting laws changes | McClatchy Washington Bureau.