Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he's improving the voter registration process at motor vehicle offices. On Tuesday, a federal judge ordered that thousands of people be added to the state’s voter rolls, even though they supposedly didn't provide citizenship documents while registering to vote at DMV locations.
Kobach says motor vehicle offices will be able to scan documents, such as birth certificates and passports, in order to speed up the verification process, and his office will be able to remotely look up voter registrations at DMV offices across the state.
The more than 18,000 suspended voters who registered through a DMVs will still be allowed to vote in federal elections without any additional documents, but not local and state elections.
Pratt Wiley of the Democratic National Committee is critical of election officials in Kansas over the state’s ever-changing voter laws.
"What I think is important to keep in mind is that this very confusion is in and of itself voter suppression," Wiley says.
Kobach plans to challenge the federal court ruling. If unsuccessful, election offices must begin registering those suspended voters starting June 1.
--
Follow Sean Sandefur on Twitter, @SeanSandefur
To contact KMUW News or to send in a news tip, reach us at news@kmuw.org.
