As Controversial Voter Registration Requirement Heads to Court, New Report Sheds Light on Its Fringe Ideological Origins
Report Highlights Kansas Secretary of State’s Extreme Agenda and Dangers of Legitimizing “Proof-of-Citizenship” Requirements
Read The Full Report Here: AlliedProgress.org/NotInKansasAnymore
Washington, DC – A new report released today by Allied Progress highlights the push by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to make access to the polls more difficult by requiring proof of citizenship as a condition to register to vote. The report, “Not in Kansas Anymore: Behind Kris Kobach’s Radical Push to Expand Voter Suppression,” outlines the impact of Kobach’s new, onerous “Proof-of-Citizenship” requirements, his extreme motivations, and the dangers of legitimizing his approach.
The report is part of a new campaign from Allied Progress to highlight voter suppression tactics and those behind them. The report arrives as the United States District Court for the District of Columbia hears a case today challenging the authority of Executive Director Brian Newby of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission’s unilateral decision to require voters in Alabama, Georgia, and Kansas to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote using the federal voter registration form.
In 2011, Kobach was the architect of a new law in Kansas requiring voters to require proof-of-citizenship to register, a law which has since come under increasing attack for resulting in the suspension of thousands of otherwise eligible voters. In 2014, Kobach set up a system in which voters who registered to vote using a federal form could only vote in federal elections.
“Kris Kobach has essentially transformed the office of the Kansas Secretary of State into the command center in the push to deny citizens the fundamental right to vote,” said Karl Frisch, executive director of Allied Progress. “Kobach’s extreme agenda is not only a threat to accountable elections in Kansas – it’s an assault on our country’s democratic principles.”
The new report outlines the anti-immigrant, nationalistic agenda underpinning Kobach’s agenda, including his comments as a conservative talk radio host and practice as a private attorney, while also examining Kobach’s former appointee and current director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, Brian Newby. Newby, who served as a county election commissioner in Kansas under Kobach, issued a unilateral decision this January legitimizing Kobach’s requirements that voters in Kansas require proof that they are U.S. citizens.
Since Newby’s decision, a coalition of voting rights groups, has filed a lawsuit contending that Newby’s action will deprive voters of the right to vote and seeking a court order blocking the changes to federal voter registration.
In addition to outlining the implications and dangers of validating Kobach’s push to make voting more difficult, the report provides a compilation of some of Kobach’s most extreme and aggressive rhetoric – outlining his shameful anti-immigrant agenda.
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