C_Clayton_Jones
Diamond Member
āRepublicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging and plan to push legislation in the new Congress requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship. Yet thereās one place with a GOP supermajority where linking voting to citizenship appears to be a nonstarter: Kansas.
Thatās because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory.
The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasnāt been enforced since 2018.
Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The stateās top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldnāt touch it. āKansas did that 10 years ago,ā said Schwab, a Republican. āIt didnāt work out so well.āā
apnews.com
Like voter āfraud,ā non-citizens voting is a partisan contrivance of the right; a lie propagated by Republicans to pander to their ignorant, hateful, racist base.
Thatās because the state has been there, done that, and all but a few Republicans would prefer not to go there again. Kansas imposed a proof-of-citizenship requirement over a decade ago that grew into one of the biggest political fiascos in the state in recent memory.
The law, passed by the state Legislature in 2011 and implemented two years later, ended up blocking the voter registrations of more than 31,000 U.S. citizens who were otherwise eligible to vote. That was 12% of everyone seeking to register in Kansas for the first time. Federal courts ultimately declared the law an unconstitutional burden on voting rights, and it hasnāt been enforced since 2018.
Kansas provides a cautionary tale about how pursuing an election concern that in fact is extremely rare risks disenfranchising a far greater number of people who are legally entitled to vote. The stateās top elections official, Secretary of State Scott Schwab, championed the idea as a legislator and now says states and the federal government shouldnāt touch it. āKansas did that 10 years ago,ā said Schwab, a Republican. āIt didnāt work out so well.āā
Kansas once required voters to prove citizenship. That didn't work out so well
Republicans made claims about illegal voting by noncitizens a centerpiece of their 2024 campaign messaging.
apnews.com
Like voter āfraud,ā non-citizens voting is a partisan contrivance of the right; a lie propagated by Republicans to pander to their ignorant, hateful, racist base.
