One complication of the state’s proof-of-citizenship law is that federal elections have no such requirement.
Two voters are challenging Kobach’s decision that those who register to vote using a federal form, which doesn’t require proof of citizenship, can’t cast ballots in state and local elections. A Shawnee County district judge last week allowed that lawsuit to go forward.
Earlier this summer, Kobach lost his bid to add the state’s proof-of-citizenship requirements to the federal form. The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a lower court ruling against that idea, leaving in place a system in which Kansas voters who register with the federal form can only vote in federal races.