2018 KS Governor's race: on Government Reform

ACLU: Disallow checking citizenship papers to register to vote

The ruling is the culmination of a federal lawsuit filed in 2016. At a bench trial earlier this year, the American Civil Liberties Union represented voters who said they had been impeded from registering by the law.

"This decision is a stinging rebuke of Kris Kobach, and the centerpiece of his voter suppression efforts: a show-me-your-papers law that has disenfranchised tens of thousands of Kansans. That law was based on a xenophobic lie that noncitizens are engaged in rampant elections fraud," said the director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project.

Under the ruling, Kobach must instruct all state and county election officers that voter registration applicants do not need to provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote.

Kris Kobach: Found in contempt for checking voter citizenship to register

In an 118-page ruling, the judge ordered a halt to the state's requirement that people provide proof of citizenship in order to register to vote. The decision holds the potential to make registration easier as the August and November elections approach.

Kobach was ordered not to enforce the proof of citizenship law and its accompanying regulations. Kobach's office said he will appeal the ruling. At trial, Kobach said the law was working. Since 2000, 129 non-citizens have either registered or attempted to register. Many of them were blocked from registering by the proof of citizenship law, he said.

ACLU: Enforce voter registration despite Kansas contempt

ACLU attorneys complained Kobach routinely defied a temporary injunction issued by Robinson in 2016 to block enforcement of the state's proof of citizenship law. Kobach's office refused to update language on its website suggesting that new voter applicants may not be able to vote. Kobach also failed to follow through on a promise to Robinson that counties would send postcards notifying voters they could participate in elections.

"The judge found that Kris Kobach disobeyed the court's orders by failing to provide registered voters with consistent information, that he willfully failed to ensure that county elections officials were properly trained and that he has a 'history of noncompliance and disrespect for the court's decisions,' " said an ACLU attorney.

Kris Kobach: Contempt of court for blocking new voter registration

Kobach's office refused to update language on its website suggesting that new voter applicants may not be able to vote after November 2016 elections. Kobach also failed to follow through on a promise to Robinson that counties would send postcards notifying voters they could participate in elections, even if they failed to show a birth certificate or other documents when they registered.

Kobach for years has championed the need for strict voter registration laws as a way of keeping noncitizens from voting. As a candidate, Kobach rallies supporters by telling them he likes makes the ACLU unhappy. "As soon as the ACLU sues, I know we have made the right decision," Kobach said during a debate last week.

Kris Kobach: Tighten restrictions on voting

Jeff Colyer: Supports voter ID requirements

Colyer embraced requirements that voters provide a photograph identification when casting a ballot to minimize the potential of illegal immigrants influencing the outcome of elections. In 2008, he voted in the House for a voter ID bill that would have applied to everyone except those older than 65, people with a disability, individuals residing overseas and members of the military.

Then-Gov. Kathleen Sebelius issued a veto message to block the kind of voter ID legislation eventually signed into law by Brownback. "No elected official should support enacting new laws discouraging or disenfranchising any American who has been legally voting for years," Sebelius said.

Kris Kobach: Vice-chair of Presidential Commission on Election Integrity

The request, sent by the panel's vice chairman, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, asks states to provide voters' names, dates of birth, driver's license numbers and other information.

Kris Kobach: Fight widespread voter fraud with strict voting laws

During his 6-year tenure as secretary of state, Kobach has repeatedly made claims of widespread voter fraud. He crafted a law that requires Kansas voters to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, to vote. He has so far secured nine convictions for election crimes.

Kobach has repeatedly said the law ensures the integrity of Kansas elections, but opponents, including the ACLU, say that the law makes it harder for rightful voters to participate in elections.

The law blocked thousands of potential voters from participating in the state's last gubernatorial election, but it could not be fully enforced in 2016 under orders of federal and state judges.

Wink Hartman: Replace dysfunction in Topeka with stability

Hartman is owner of oil industry businesses and has been a donor to GOP candidates. He sought the 4th District seat in the U.S. House in 2010 but lost to Mike Pompeo in the Republican primary. Pompeo resigned to accept an appointment as CIA director under President Donald Trump.