Lawmakers object to Kobach’s proposed 90-day rule

Well, that’s one way to deal with the embarrassment of having more than 30,000 Kansans blocked from being able to vote: Purge the list. Secretary of State Kris Kobach intends to institute a new rule allowing his office to drop from its suspended-voters list people who have not provided proof of citizenship or other required information 90 days after attempting to register to vote. He sees the rule change as common sense, but four state lawmakers objected Monday during a meeting of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and Regulations. Rep. Jim Ward, D-Wichita, called the 90-day ruled “arbitrary and capricious” and questioned the constitutionality of the proof-of-citizenship requirement. However, the committee doesn’t have the authority to veto the rule change. – Phillip Brownlee

This story was originally published August 11, 2015 at 7:05 PM.