Wichita lawmaker seeks to rein in Kobach’s prosecution powers

A Wichita state representative has filed a bill to strip Secretary of State Kris Kobach of his authority to prosecute election crimes.

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, said allowing Kobach to bring criminal cases has not uncovered evidence of illegal immigrant voting fraud, which was a big part of Kobach’s pitch when the Legislature granted him prosecutorial power in 2015.

“Since that time, he has commenced approximately 10 of those prosecutions, all of them against United States citizens and in virtually every instance, against folks who made mistakes in casting their ballots,” Carmichael said. “Some of these cases have since been dismissed ... as unfounded, and a handful more have resulted in minimal fines against otherwise law-abiding citizens.

“Given the secretary of state’s incompetent prosecutorial abilities, I thought it was appropriate to return those responsibilities to professional prosecutors,” Carmichael said.

Kobach could not be reached for a direct comment. He issued a statement backing the law.

“We need prosecutorial authority to deter the persistent crime of double voting,” Kobach said in the statement. “The law is working exactly as intended.”

Carmichael, a lawyer, said county and state prosecutors routinely exercise their discretion to not file criminal charges for first-time offenders when the crimes are minor and unlikely to be repeated.

He said the state would be better served if Kobach concentrated on the other responsibilities of his office, keeping records and administering elections.

Kobach, however, said he thinks the prosecutions and fines are justified.

“Evidently Mr. Carmichael thinks people who vote twice should not be penalized,” Kobach said in the statement. “He is wrong.”

Carmichael is the ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, which handles most criminal-justice bills.

His bill would also change penalties for voting crimes back to what they were before 2015.

Violations such as double voting and mishandling of absentee ballots had been misdemeanors but were upgraded to felonies.

Kobach’s statement did not address the penalty-reduction portions of Carmichael’s bill.

The Legislature returns to the Capitol for its annual session on Monday. Carmichael’s bill, House Bill 2014, is scheduled for formal introduction in the House on Thursday.

This story was originally published January 8, 2017 at 4:14 PM with the headline "Wichita lawmaker seeks to rein in Kobach’s prosecution powers."