Kansas is latest state to press for voter restrictions

Kansas became the latest state to press a federal case aimed at keeping thousands of would-be voters from casting ballots in November, asking a federal appeals court in Denver on Tuesday to back the state's strict proof-of-citizenship requirement.

North Carolina and Texas have had voter ID laws rejected by federal appeals courts in recent months. Now Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach wants a federal appeals court in Denver to overturn a federal judge's order to add 18,000 people to the state voter rolls.

The would-be voters attempted to register at motor vehicle offices without providing a birth certificate or other proof of U.S. citizenship the state wants to require.

Judge Julie Robinson ruled in May that the state requirement violated federal law, which requires states to provide easy access to voter registration when people renew driver's licenses. She said the state could provide only a handful of instances where noncitizens voted in federal elections, while thousands of citizens could be disenfranchised by the state's rules.

The American Civil Liberties Union, which opposes the state on behalf of some individual voters and the Kansas League of Women Voters, says many people renewing their licenses aren't aware of the requirements.

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"Kansans are being told they must present additional citizenship paperwork in order to become registered — or they're not being informed at all, only to find out later that they've been suspended from voting," the ACLU said in a statement. "As a result, more than 30,000 potential voters have been blocked from voting."

Kobach says the requirement is an important tool to keep illegal immigrants and other unqualified people from voting. The ACLU says it discourages voter participation. Both sides say the case ultimately could involve far more than 18,000 people.

Kobach also tried to implement a rule requiring proof of citizenship for state and local elections. A state judge, however, also rejected that effort.

A former chairman of the Kansas GOP, Kobach has vehemently denied claims from Democratic state Rep. Jim Ward and others that the registration requirement is designed to frustrate minority voters who tend to vote for Democrats. He says that only a very small percentage of voters would be affected.

“There is no way of knowing whether those individuals will be voting Republican or voting Democrat," Kobach said.