Kris Kobach, suppressing the vote, one voter at a time
Stunning new facts about just how many voters have been disenfranchised under Kansas's Kris Kobach—the worst secretary of state in the nation.
From KCUR:
“This is a big change for Kansas. In 2010, we only rejected .03 percent of voter registration applications,” said Patrick Miller, a University of Kansas assistant political science professor. “Whereas in 2014, we’ve suspended or rejected almost 20 percent. That’s a massive increase.”
HUGE. With at least three big races in Kansas coming down to the wire, this could be an election changer. And who is affected the most? You probably already know the answer, but:
“It’s filtering out independents, the swing voters, making proportionately the electorate more Democratic, more Republican,” Miller said. “In Kansas, the effect of this is essentially making the electorate more Republican, given that Republicans have a registration advantage here.”
These applicants were rejected in the name of voter fraud, but study after study show
voter fraud is extremely rare:
Although studies repeatedly show voter fraud of the type Mr. Kobach targets to be extremely rare, he has not toned down his message. “We have had many, many cases of noncitizens registered to vote prior to our new law,” he said.
When pressed in a hearing in the State Legislature in January, however, Mr. Kobach said his office identified only 20 noncitizens who had registered before the new law, and just five who had actually voted.
Tomorrow 22,468 people will be denied the right to vote in Kansas, because of five
alleged cases of voter fraud. The vast majority of those denied are Democrats and Independents. And that doesn't even count voters like 97-year-old Beth Hiller, who didn't have proper ID while trying to vote in the August primary and
was denied a vote after 77-years of voting in Kansas. Kris Kobach's disgusting voter disenfranchisement may be enough to sway several key races, including his own race against Daily Kos-endorsed Jean Schodorf.
If you live in Kansas or know anyone living in Kansas, it's time to GOTV for Jean Schodorf and send Kris Kobach back to private law practice. He won't stop his voter fraud witch hunt, but at least he won't be doing it from the Kansas secretary of state office.
