Fork In The Road: Kansas To Implement Two-Track Voter List?

[Image courtesy of thinkunlimited]

Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship law for voting, already a source of controversy, is about to get even more attention as reports emerge that the Secretary of State’s office is moving ahead with plans to set up a two-track voter list that would limit some voters to casting ballots only in federal elections if they fail to produce the required citizenship documents. The Wichita Eagle has more:

With court action over the state’s proof-of-citizenship voting law looming, Secretary of State Kris Kobach is laying groundwork for a system that would allow some voters to vote in all elections while others could only vote for Congress and presidential tickets.

Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, an opponent of the proof-of-citizenship law, said he received confirmation from the Department of Legislative Research this week that Kobach is moving forward with the plan to limit voters who follow federal registration rules to voting only in federal elections.

Separately, a memo to all the state’s county election officials outlines procedures for identifying and tracking voters who use the federal form and creating a separate category for them in voting databases.

“Many counties probably have had very few federal forms submitted over the years,” said the memo from state Election Director Brad Bryant, dated July 31. “Regardless of the number, beginning now you must track which voter registration applicants in your county have applied using the federal form since January 1, 2013.

“This means you should take note when a federal form comes to your office and keep a list of the names of individuals who submit them … Whichever form a person uses, if an applicant does not submit a U.S. citizenship document, you must follow up and request one.”

If the proposed plan goes through, jurisdictions would be required to limit voters to different ballots depending on the source of their registrations:

Voters who fill out the state form and don’t submit the citizenship proof have their voting privileges suspended until they do. At present about 17,500 voters are “in suspense.”

Kobach, Bryant’s boss, confirmed he’s planning for elections with different ballots for different voters, depending on whether they register under federal or state rules. He said it’s “merely a contingency plan” in case he loses a lawsuit seeking to make federal officials adopt Kansas rules for voters in Kansas.

The plan creates three classes of registered voters, according to the Legislative Research report provided to Ward on Thursday:

• Voters using either the federal or Kansas form and providing state-required documents proving their citizenship would be able to vote in all federal, state and local elections.

• Voters who use the federal form but don’t provide citizenship documents will be allowed to vote only for candidates running for president, vice president and Congress.

• Registrants who file a Kansas form but don’t provide citizenship documents will be put in suspension and won’t be allowed to vote in any election.

Secretary Kobach notes that the two-track system is a fallback solution in case the state is unsuccessful in forcing the federal government to require voters using the federal registration form to show proof of citizenship – litigation launched in response to a June Supreme Court decision that reaffirmed that the federal government could refuse to require proof of citizenship but also opening the door to state lawsuits seeking to force such proof.

For now, Kansas’ local election officials are taking a wait-and-see approach but there are concerns about how a two-track system would work:

The Kansas County Clerks and Election Officials Association has yet to take a stand on Kobach’s instructions for separating out the voters who use federal forms, said Sharon Seibel, the county clerk of Ford County.

“Hopefully, there will be some resolution to all this” before next year’s statewide elections, Seibel said.

Kobach’s direction will be a topic of discussion when the clerk’s association meets Oct. 30 in Wichita …

Sherman County Clerk Janet Rumpel, the immediate past president of the association, said she has asked the Secretary of State’s Office for clarification on whether she would have to prepare two sets of ballots for primary and general elections every two years on the chance somebody files a federal registration form – which she has never actually seen.

“It would be a nightmare for us,” she said.

Seibel declined to share an opinion on the plan for bifurcated voting, saying it would be irrelevant.

“I’m a county election official, I will abide by the law,” she said.

It isn’t clear what would happen to voters who have provided proof of citizenship but are in “suspense” because of delays at the Department of Revenue – but that will certainly be a flashpoint of discussion in coming weeks as well.

This is, as they say, kind of a big deal … I’ll be watching this story in the weeks to come.