Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says his office has charged three people with crimes related to double voting. Two of the cases are in Johnson County with an additional case in Sherman County on the Colorado border. All three allege the defendants voted in Kansas and in another state. Kobach says double voting undermines some of the nation’s basic election principles.
“Because we’re based on the principle that each person only has one vote and that all citizens are equal in the voting process. It’s one person one vote, not one person two votes,” says Kobach.
These are the first cases filed since Kansas lawmakers gave the secretary of state’s office the power to prosecute voting crimes earlier this year.
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Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s office has charged three people with crimes related to double voting. These are the first charges filed since Kansas lawmakers gave the secretary of state’s office the power to prosecute voter fraud. Stephen Koranda reports.
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The cases involve Steven and Betty Gaedtke charged in Johnson County and Lincoln Wilson charged in Sherman County on the Colorado border. The charges allege the three voted in Kansas and another state in 2010.
Kobach says they can’t stop double voting, but they can detect it.
“Once people recognize we can catch you after the fact, hopefully people will not succumb to the temptation to vote twice,” says Kobach.
Some district attorneys opposed giving the secretary of state’s office the power to prosecute voting crimes, saying it was redundant. Kobach argued the crimes weren’t being adequately pursued by local prosecutors.
The three people facing charges did not respond to messages asking for a comment.