Secretary Kobach speaking earlier this year. (Photo by Stephen Koranda)Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach will soon present arguments before a federal appeals court in a lawsuit over voter registration rules. The states of Arizona and Kansas currently require proof of citizenship for certain voter registrations. The two states argue that their requirements should be displayed on the federal voter registration form. A lower court judge agreed, and now an appeals court will decide whether that order should go into effect or be put on hold as the case is litigated. Kobach believes the states have a strong argument as to why the federal registration form should be changed now.
The appeals court has already put the change on temporary hold. The federal government argues that the voter registration form should not be changed, because doing so could discourage some eligible voters from registering as the November election approaches.