To: The Kansas State House, The Kansas State Senate, and Governor Laura Kelly
Prevent the rushed implementation of Voter ID laws in Kansas
We the people of the state of Kansas call upon our legislators and the governor to temporarily roll back the Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Law until further reviews are completed to assess the effectiveness, functionality, and legality of the proposed election reforms.
Implementation of the law should be put on hiatus until the following tasks are completed:
1. An audit of all Kansas Department of Motor Vehicle offices to assess their readiness to supply a reasonable amount of free voting ID cards to the voters of Kansas.
2. A review by Attorney General Eric Holder to test the constitutionality of SAFE’s stipulation that the State of Kansas has the right to create barriers to voting.
3. A further review by the Federal Department of Justice to determine whether or not such barriers, if constitutional, are reasonable given only one case of voter fraud has reached conviction in the last 16 Kansas elections (with over 10 million votes cast).
4. An audit of the Department of State’s use of the over $60,000 designated to implement the law and provide temporary voting IDs.
5. An inquest by the Governmental Ethics Commission into the nature and involvement of corporate lobbyists and the American Legislative Exchange Council’s monetary or other support for SAFE.
6. A transparent report made available to the public regarding the results of these investigations. The document should be exhaustive and free of any redactions.
We, the people of Kansas, stand resolved to protect our constitutional rights to free and fair elections.
Implementation of the law should be put on hiatus until the following tasks are completed:
1. An audit of all Kansas Department of Motor Vehicle offices to assess their readiness to supply a reasonable amount of free voting ID cards to the voters of Kansas.
2. A review by Attorney General Eric Holder to test the constitutionality of SAFE’s stipulation that the State of Kansas has the right to create barriers to voting.
3. A further review by the Federal Department of Justice to determine whether or not such barriers, if constitutional, are reasonable given only one case of voter fraud has reached conviction in the last 16 Kansas elections (with over 10 million votes cast).
4. An audit of the Department of State’s use of the over $60,000 designated to implement the law and provide temporary voting IDs.
5. An inquest by the Governmental Ethics Commission into the nature and involvement of corporate lobbyists and the American Legislative Exchange Council’s monetary or other support for SAFE.
6. A transparent report made available to the public regarding the results of these investigations. The document should be exhaustive and free of any redactions.
We, the people of Kansas, stand resolved to protect our constitutional rights to free and fair elections.
Why is this important?
Voter ID laws were passed in Kansas in 2011. The law requires all voters to show a photo ID at the polls. The law is nearly identical to other American Legislative Exchange Council voter suppression measures in other states. ALEC requires ten-thousand dollars from corporate members, using this money to provide “scholarships” for state legislators to come to lavish parties and conferences at resort hotels. At these conferences, big businesses and state legislators get together to strategize what they see as the best path forward for their own interests, while reporters and journalists are explicitly banned from the proceedings so as to prevent the public from knowing the truth about ALEC’s plans.
Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, ALEC member, and author of the Voter ID laws, purposefully included a "free photo ID" for all citizens. This law was to go into effect January 1st, 2012. As of January 3rd, local DMV's have received no resources or training to supply the thousands of temporary IDs necessary to ensure all Kansans can vote in the critical 2012 election. Currently, Kobach is pushing for a rushed implementation of the second half of his law, originally set to go into effect in 2013: all citizens must provide a birth certificate or proof of citizenship to register to vote. Kobach has publicly stated that he wants this half-baked law to go into effect before the 2012 election.
Despite failing to implement the first half of the voter-ID laws, Kobach and other politicians still want to rush on with requiring proof of citizenship to register. These laws will disenfranchise thousands and make it impossible for anyone but the state or extremely well-funded organizations to register voters. Worse yet, with DMVs reporting to volunteers across the state they currently have no training on how to provide the IDs, citizens are left wondering what happened to the ~$60,000 allotted to implementing the first part of this misguided law. And what will happen if rushed implementation of the proof-of-citizenship requirement is allowed to move up before the next election?
Kris Kobach, Kansas Secretary of State, ALEC member, and author of the Voter ID laws, purposefully included a "free photo ID" for all citizens. This law was to go into effect January 1st, 2012. As of January 3rd, local DMV's have received no resources or training to supply the thousands of temporary IDs necessary to ensure all Kansans can vote in the critical 2012 election. Currently, Kobach is pushing for a rushed implementation of the second half of his law, originally set to go into effect in 2013: all citizens must provide a birth certificate or proof of citizenship to register to vote. Kobach has publicly stated that he wants this half-baked law to go into effect before the 2012 election.
Despite failing to implement the first half of the voter-ID laws, Kobach and other politicians still want to rush on with requiring proof of citizenship to register. These laws will disenfranchise thousands and make it impossible for anyone but the state or extremely well-funded organizations to register voters. Worse yet, with DMVs reporting to volunteers across the state they currently have no training on how to provide the IDs, citizens are left wondering what happened to the ~$60,000 allotted to implementing the first part of this misguided law. And what will happen if rushed implementation of the proof-of-citizenship requirement is allowed to move up before the next election?