Today in Topeka, Kris Kobach took time to address some of the most Kansas worry most about - altering the way we vote.
In appearing before a panel of legislators, Kobach again asserted the need of his office to have direct prosecutorial power over voter fraud cases - and expansion of powers of the Secretary of State, but he also offered two new pieces of legislation for review.
http://www.kansas.com/...
Secretary of State Kris Kobach proposed two election bills Wednesday, one to bring back straight-ticket party voting and another that would make death the only excuse for a candidate's name to be withdrawn from an election.
The two bills are in addition to his ongoing effort to convince the Legislature to let him prosecute voting fraud.
These proposals, aimed at pointing out that a situation which allowed candidates to drop off the ballot this year in Kansas should never be allowed to happen - as well as make it easier for straight ticket voting topped Kobach's issues.
Kobach's two proposals were refered to by Democrats as "A thing of the past". Rep. John Carmichael, of Wichita noted the obvious, pointing out that straight ticket voting doesn't provide for any meaningful discourse on any single race.
"Instead it just encourages mindless voting based solely on partisan politics and that is not good for the process."
Kobach's movement on an issue of removal from an election, however, could best be called vengeance for the 2014 electoral cycle.
Kobach's directive in the legislation provides that the only way to remove yourself from the ballot is if you die in a specific period - between the primary and the Sept. 1 certification.
The legislation, written in such a way that death is the only way off the ballot, provides no provisions for strokes, incapacitation, long term injury, prosecution, jail, death of a spouse or loved one, or any other reason.
In fact, the assumption is: if you have a pulse you will be on the ballot. This standard would be.. interesting to enforce, as both Republicans and Democrats have removed themselves from the ballot in many states for numerous reasons, but the clear motivation here is payback for the expenditure of fighting in court and losing, something that has not in any way helped Kansas current budget crisis.
When asked for a comment on the projected costs of fighting a legal challenge to either measure, Kris Kobach noted that if passed, such a challenge would be "doubtful".
No budget or expected cost for expanding the Secretary of State's office with prosecution powers was available through any legislator contacted.