Feds deny state bids to tighten voter registration
Source: Associated Press
Feds deny state bids to tighten voter registration
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press | January 18, 2014 | Updated: January 18, 2014 4:36pm
WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — The U.S. Election Assistance Commission found Friday that heightened proof-of-citizenship requirements likely would hinder eligible citizens from voting in federal elections, handing down a ruling that denied requests from Kansas, Arizona and Georgia to modify the registration form for their residents.
The decision came just hours before a court-imposed deadline in a lawsuit filed in federal court by Kansas and Arizona that seeks to force the commission to modify state-specific requirements for registering to vote in those states. Georgia, which has a similar voter registration law, is not part of the litigation but was included in the commission's decision.
Those states have enacted laws requiring new voters to provide a birth certificate, passport or other proof of U.S. citizenship when registering to vote. People who register using the federal form only need to sign a statement, under penalty of perjury, that he or she is a U.S. citizen.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has championed his state's proof-of-citizenship law to keep non-citizens from voting, particularly those in the U.S. illegally. But critics say voter fraud is extremely rare and contend such laws suppress the vote and threaten to keep thousands of citizens from casting ballots.
Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Feds-deny-state-bids-to-tighten-voter-registration-5155458.php
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