It's been a bad week for Kansas's Kris Kobach—worst secretary of state in the nation.
The Kansas Supreme Court ruled against him and ordered Democrat Chad Taylor off the ballot in the U.S. Senate race.
Now he's announced that overseas military ballots, which were supposed to go out on September 20, wouldn't be sent until September 27. Unfortunately for him, delaying those ballots requires federal approval, which he apparently doesn't have:
To get a waiver, Kobach must submit his case to the Defense Department's Federal Voter Assistance Program, which oversees enforcement of the MOVE Act. The FVAP office is then required under the law to consult with the Justice Department's Voting Section before approving it.
As of early Friday afternoon, the FVAP office told TPM that it had not received a waiver from Kansas or been consulted by Kobach's office about a waiver.
Finally, there's
this:
KAN SoS office says 67 ballots with Chad Taylor's name on them were sent to overseas voters. "Corrective action has already been taken."
— @dhellingkc
No word yet on how those ballots were accidentally sent, especially given the high-profile case was being decided on the very day they were sent. And no word on what "corrective action" has been taken.
The clock's ticking, Kobach. And so is your time in office.
Can you contribute $5 to help elect Jean Schodorf and send the worst secretary of state in the nation to the unemployment line?
If you are in Kansas, check out the Daily Kos Community Meet-up + Voter Outreach & Registration taking place Sunday, September 21.
1:21 PM PT: Apparently Kris Kobach has decided to abide by federal law after all:
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) _ Kansas elections official reverses course, ballots will go out without Democrat in Senate race.
— @Stowydad