Kobach files 3 more election crime cases, including one in Sedgwick County

Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office has filed criminal complaints against three more people – including a Sedgwick County man – accused of voting twice in the same election.

The Sedgwick County defendant, Ron Weems, faces felony charges of election perjury and misdemeanor charges of voting without being qualified for the 2012 and 2014 elections. The complaint, filed Jan. 19, alleges that Weems voted in both Sedgwick County and in Teller County, Colo., during those elections.

Kobach became the first secretary of state in the nation to gain prosecutorial power last year. He filed the first three cases in October. One defendant has pleaded guilty; the other two are fighting the charges in court.

“I think word is getting out that in Kansas, we do catch you if you double vote,” Kobach told the House Elections Committee on Monday.

A conviction of election perjury could be punished with seven months in prison for a first-time offender; the presumptive penalty is one year of probation.

Rep. Tom Sawyer, D-Wichita, told Kobach that most of the cases seemed to involve people who mistakenly believe they can vote in both states rather than people who intentionally sought to commit fraud.

Kobach replied that whenever an illegal vote is cast, it effectively cancels out someone else’s vote. He contended that it could potentially swing a close election.

Weems could not be located for comment. His voting registration address in Kansas and the mailing address on his Colorado registration match up to a small industrial building near the Intrust Bank Arena.

The building entrances are surrounded with locked metal security screening and the windows are covered with plastic siding. A large mailbox labeled “Weems” pokes out through the metal mesh of the screening.

No one answered a knock there Monday evening.

Weems registered to vote in 1980 in Sedgwick County and in 2003 in Colorado, records show.

Going back 15 years, his Kansas voting records show he voted in 2000, 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2014.

Colorado records show he voted there in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Judd Choate, director of elections for Colorado, said it’s not unusual for people there to list a home address in Colorado and a mailing address in another state.

He said many people spend their summers there and consider it their primary home, but have their ballots mailed to their winter quarters in warmer states.

He said he was aware of the Weems case and his office is sharing information with Kansas, but Colorado hasn’t taken any action.

“We’re happy to supply information (to Kansas) and see where the case goes,” he said.

Weems’ first court appearance is set for Feb. 11.

The other complaints were filed in Johnson County and Ellis County.

Michael Hannum of Johnson County is accused of voting in both Johnson County and in Douglas County, Neb., in 2012. He faces misdemeanor and felony charges.

Hannum now lives in Omaha, Nebraska, and said in a telephone interview that at the time, he was traveling regularly between a home in Johnson County and Omaha to visit family following his 83-year-old father’s death in early 2011.

He said he’s been interviewed by authorities several times and local prosecutors’ offices in both states told him they closed their investigations and wouldn’t file charges because they didn’t believe the double voting was deliberate.

“I’d like to get it behind me,” he said. “I thought it was done.”

Randall Kilian faces misdemeanor charges of voting without being qualified in Ellis County in 2012. He is accused of also voting in Douglas County, Colo., that year.

Kilian said he now lives in Castle Rock, Colo., after retiring there. He said he wouldn’t intentionally violate election laws and did not know anything about the criminal case.

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, asked Kobach how many of the defendants in his six cases are noncitizens, noting that Kobach has often promoted the idea that Kansas elections face a threat of voter fraud by noncitizens.

None of the defendants is a noncitizen, Kobach said. He added that he was certain that noncitizens had voted in elections before the state adopted a proof-of-citizenship requirement. He said he did not have enough evidence to prosecute those cases.

Contributing: Associated Press

This story was originally published January 25, 2016 at 1:35 PM with the headline "Kobach files 3 more election crime cases, including one in Sedgwick County."