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ACLU Comment on Kansas Plan to Seek Supreme Court Review of Voting Ruling

Case: Fish v. Schwab (formerly Fish v. Kobach)
June 2, 2020 2:15 pm
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TOPEKA, Kan. — Kansas will reportedly seek U.S. Supreme Court review of a ruling striking down a voter suppression law crafted by former Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Kansas, and Dechert LLP successfully challenged the law on behalf of the League of Women Voters of Kansas and individual Kansans.

A federal trial court struck down the law concluding it illegally mandated documentary proof of citizenship (such as a birth certificate or passport) to register to vote, and blocked more than 30,000 Kansans from registering to vote. In April, a federal appeals court upheld that ruling.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, had this reaction to the state’s plan to seek Supreme Court review:

“Kansas Secretary of State Schwab’s attempt to resuscitate Kris Kobach’s sorry legacy of voter suppression is an insult to Kansas voters. This law disenfranchised more than 30,000 Kansans, denying them the most fundamental right in our democracy. Multiple federal courts have found that it violates the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution, and we are confident that those rulings will stand.”

Case details: https://www.aclu.org/cases/fish-v-schwab-formerly-fish-v-kobach

Voting

Fish v. Schwab (formerly Fish v. Kobach)

This lawsuit challenges Kansas’ documentary proof-of-citizenship law which requires people, when they register to vote, to show documents to prove their citizenship. It violates the National Voter Registration Act, a federal law designed to make it easier for Americans to register to vote and maintain their registrations.

Source: American Civil Liberties Union

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