Editor's Note: This report is part of a project on voting rights in America produced by the Carnegie-Knight News21 program and first appeared here.
TOPEKA, Kan. - For years, Kris Kobach has fought
against illegal immigration. He helped write two of the nation's most
strict immigration laws in Arizona and Alabama and helped develop a
now-defunct national immigration security system.
Now Kobach, the Republican secretary of state
for Kansas, is embroiled in court fights over his repeated attempts to
require Kansans to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote.
Although he has repeatedly lost in court, one case that remains open
will determine whether thousands of Kansans will be able to vote in
November's local and state elections.
The saga began in 2011 when Kansas passed the Secure and Fair Elections Act. The law, written by Kobach, requires those registering to vote after Jan. 1, 2013, to provide documentary proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a birth certificate or a passport. Kansas is the only state trying to enforce a proof of citizenship requirement for voter registration, although Kobach wants the rest of the country to follow.
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