Newly unsealed documents show Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach had proposed changes to federal voting law when meeting with then President-elect Donald Trump. The ACLU wanted to disclose the documents in a lawsuit over Kansas voting rules.
At issue were two documents. One was a partially obscured paper Kobach carried into a meeting with Trump, and the second was a document distributed in his office.
They show Kobach had proposed to change the National Voter Registration Act to promote proof-of-citizenship laws. The federal act has been used to challenge Kansas voter registration policies. The changes would allow Kansas and other states to require proof of citizenship when registering to vote.
The ACLU wanted to disclose the documents in a case over Kansas voting rules.
Dale Ho, an ACLU attorney, says the public has a right to know about Kobach’s proposals.
“I’m glad this dispute over these documents is finally coming to an end. These documents never should have been concealed from the public,” Ho said.
Kobach is vice chair of a presidential commission studying voting policies and fraud.
Kobach has said the ACLU had a political agenda in making the documents public and unsealing them would hinder his ability to advise the president.