House Panel To Sponsor Kobach Elections Bill

Thu, January 12, 2012

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KMUW / AP / Carla Eckels

A Kansas House panel has agreed to Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s proposal to start requiring proof of citizenship from potential voters earlier than originally scheduled but as KMUW’s Carla Eckels reports, activists from KanVote maintain such a rule will suppress voter turnout.

The current rule is set to take effect next year but Kobach has said he wants to have the requirement in place in time for what he expects to be a surge of voter registrations before the November presidential election. The elections committee agreed to introduce a bill that would require people registering to vote to provide proof of citizenship for the first time in Kansas, starting June 15.

Louis Goseland from the KanVote coalition says the bill is really what many have suspected it to be.

“It’s about keeping people from voting,” says Goseland. “It’s about voter suppression. They have done a good job of making sure that there are a lot of hoops to jump through in order to vote, but they have done a very poor job in providing the education and infrastructure to ensure that people can vote under this new law.”

The elections committee’s action came on a voice vote. Committees routinely sponsor bills for executive branch officials and agencies.