Federal Appeals Court Affirms Kansas Must Register Thousands of Blocked Voters

Affiliate: ACLU of Kansas
September 30, 2016 12:30 pm

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DENVER — A federal appeals court today upheld a district court ruling ordering Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to register thousands of eligible voters he had attempted to block.

The Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals ruling stems from an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed on behalf of Kansans who tried to register to vote via the state Division of Vehicles, but were illegally forced to provide additional documentation. More than 18,000 people had been impeded from registering in what a federal district judge has described as “a confusing and inconsistently-enforced maze” and blocked for the November election.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, had this reaction to the appeals court decision:

“This ruling is a stinging rebuke of Secretary Kobach’s repeated efforts to stand in the way of Kansans trying to exercise their right to vote. It means thousands of voters will not be disenfranchised for the November election.”

The ruling is at: https://www.aclu.org/legal-document/fish-v-kobach-order-and-judgment


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