Court: Kansas can't require voters to show citizenship proof
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(AP) A federal appeals court panel has ruled that a Kansas law requiring proof of citizenship to register to vote is unconstitutional. The ruling Wednesday by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals panel upholds a judge's injunction that had banned its use.
The panel found in two consolidated appeals challenging the Kansas statute that the state law violates the Equal Protection Clause and the National Voter Registration Act. The panel upheld the permanent injunction that U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson had imposed prohibiting enforcement of the requirement.
The judges noted that the district court had found essentially no evidence that the integrity of the state’s electoral process had been threatened, that the registration of ineligible voters had caused voter rolls to be inaccurate, or that voter fraud had occurred. It found that at most 67 noncitizens registered or attempted to register in Kansas in the last 19 years.
The legal fight has drawn national attention as Republicans pursue voter ID laws aimed at preventing in-person voter fraud. Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, a Democrat, said the state should drop its appeal, but that decision is not up to her.
