Last week, The Trial wrapped up against Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of State (SOS), and his efforts to Suppress Voting in his Home State. The Case was handled by Dale Ho, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) Voting Rights Project Director.
The ACLU is suing Kobach over the Secure And Fair Elections Act, or SAFE Act. The Civil Rights Group says that it is needlessly Restrictive and has impacted 35,000 Voters. To uphold the Kansas Statute, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals told Kobach he had to show that Non-Citizen Voter Registration was a widespread issue and that nothing short of Kansas’ Proof of Citizenship Law could stop the problem.
Kobach attempted to defend his Restrictions on Voter Registration with claims of Rampant Voter Fraud. He Failed with the Disapproval of every one of Kobach's Bogus Statistics about Non-Citizen Voting.
Citing Fraudulent, paper-thin Evidence, Kobach built his Case on the Lie that 18,000 Non-Citizens Registered to Vote in Kansas. But in the Courtroom, Kobach could only identify 18 Non-Citizens, out of 1.8 Million Voters, who have successfully Registered to Vote over the past Two Decades. And only Five of them ever cast a Ballot. For those Five Illegal Voters, Kobach was willing to sacrifice the Voting Rights of more than 35,000 Kansans, who were Blocked from Registering to Vote.
You don't need to read between the lines to know what this Case was all about: Suppressing the Vote for Young Voters and Low-Income People, and Demonizing People of Color as Illegitimate Invaders of our Political Process. That became crystal clear when one of Kobach's Key Witnesses, Jesse Richman, a Political Science Professor at Old Dominion University, admitted to flagging "Foreign" sounding Names as part of his work to identify potential Non-Citizens on the Voter Rolls.
Of the 35,000 Disenfranchised Kansas Voters, almost half were under the age of 30.
Enforcing Kobach’s Law is like taking a bazooka to a fly. It's fitting that his whole Case unraveled so quickly.
Now it’s up to U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson, a George W. Bush Appointee, to ultimately decide whether Kobach gave her enough evidence that Non-Citizen Voter Registration in Kansas is a substantial problem.
The day after the Trial, the Judge even held a Hearing on whether to hold Kobach in Contempt of Court. We'll soon find out her Verdict.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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