The Kansas Republican Party is calling for Paul Davis to remove himself from a lawsuit over voter registration. Davis, a former Democratic candidate for governor, is challenging a rule that will cancel incomplete voter registrations after 90 days. He’s also challenging the underlying proof of citizenship requirement in Kansas law that has put thousands of voter registrations on hold. The suit is filed on behalf of two Douglas County residents.
Kelly Arnold, chair of the Kansas Republican Party, calls the lawsuit hypocrisy because Davis voted in favor of the law.
“What has influenced him to change his mind on this, or why has he taken up the case against a bill that he just recently supported?” says Arnold.
Davis says he voted for the bill because he supported the voter ID portion, but says he has always had concerns about the proof of citizenship part of the bill.
“This is just a media stunt by the Republican Party trying to deflect attention away from the fact that the secretary of state is trying to purge 36,000 Kansans from the voter rolls,” says Davis.
Arnold contends state ethics laws bar Davis from filing this suit against a bill he supported. Davis says that statute is not applicable in this case.