A Wichita state representative has filed a bill to strip Secretary of State Kris Kobach of his authority to prosecute election crimes.
Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said allowing Kobach to bring criminal cases has not uncovered evidence of illegal immigrant voting fraud, which was a big part of Kobach’s pitch when the Legislature granted him prosecutorial power in 2015.
“Since that time, he has commenced approximately 10 of those prosecutions, all of them against United States citizens and in virtually every instance, against folks who made mistakes in casting their ballots,” Carmichael said. “Some of these cases have since been dismissed … as unfounded, and a handful more have resulted in minimal fines against otherwise law-abiding citizens….
“Evidently Mr. Carmichael thinks people who vote twice should not be penalized,” Kobach said in the statement. “He is wrong.”