[EL] Has the EAC Capitulated to Kansas on Proof of Citizenship for Voting?

[Rick Hasen]

    Has the EAC Capitulated to Kansas on Proof of Citizenship for
    Voting? <http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79487>

Posted onFebruary 1, 2016 9:15 am 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=79487>byRick Hasen 
<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

There’s been a longrunning battle between the U.S. government and KS 
(and Arizona) over whether those states need to accept the “federal 
form” to register voters in federal elections. These states did not want 
to accept the federal form for voting because the form, unlike each 
state’s regular voter registration forms, did not require documentary 
proof of citizenship before voting.

After a bunch of litigation, where things stood until recently was: 
these states had to accept the federal form for voting in federal 
elections. KS took the position that it did not have to allow voting by 
those using the federal form in /state/elections.  A state court 
recently rejected this two-tiered voting system, but the issue was on 
appeal.

But now the EAC his issuedthis letter 
<http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/KS%20-%20Elec.%20Dir,%20NVRA,%201-29-16.pdf> which 
indicates the EAC has agreed to include the following state specific 
information about registering in KS. Within 90 days, one must provide KS 
election officials with documentary proof of citizenship (from a list 
provided) in order to have one’s registration accepted. (There’s 
asimilar letter 
<http://www.eac.gov/assets/1/Documents/GA%20SOS%20-%20NVRA,%201-29-16.pdf>approved 
from Ga.)

I could be wrong, but this appears to be a capitulation by the EAC, 
which will now lead to disenfranchisement of anyone who registers with 
the federal form but does not provide the documentary proof of 
citizenship within 90 days.

Is this right? Has the EAC capitulated? Why?

UPDATE: One question is whether EAC executive director Brian Newby, 
himself from KS, acted on his own or with the agreement of the three EAC 
commissioners. Inquiring minds want to know.

-- 
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu
hhttp://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org

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