The future of a much-criticized database that checks if voters are illegally registered in multiple states is up in the air after its patron, Kris Kobach, lost the Kansas race for governor and is out of elected office.
A spokeswoman for Kobach’s successor as Kansas secretary of state said Friday the office is reviewing the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program and consulting with other member states about it. “No formal decision has been made either way” about whether to end the program, said Katie Koupal, the spokeswoman for Secretary of State Scott Schwab.
Crosscheck, which had been administered by Kobach’s office, compares voter registration lists among participating states to look for duplicates. The program is aimed at cleaning voter records and preventing voter fraud, but has drawn criticismfor its high error rate and lax security.