Documentary proof of citizenship requirement; Dual-registration system

Documentary proof of citizenship requirement; Dual-registration system.

In Kansas, first-time registrants are required to submit documentary proof-of-citizenship, which has blocked over 30,000 registrations.

The ACLU filed suit challenging the documentary proof of citizenship requirement under the federal motor-voter law. Read about the case here. On May 17, a federal court ordered that the state must register 18,000 Kansans who applied to register to vote at DMV offices, but who were blocked from registration under the documentary proof of citizenship requirement. Read about the decision here. Litigation on appeal is ongoing; oral argument was heard in the Tenth Circuit on August 23rd.

After the federal court ruled that the documentary proof of citizenship requirement violates the federal motor-voter law, Kansas responded by stating that it will enforce a dual-registration system, in which motor-voter applicants who do not provide documentary proof of citizenship will be permitted to vote in federal elections only, but not in state and local elections. The ACLU filed suit in state court against the dual-registration system, in July 2016. Read more about that case here. The court has issued a temporary injunction blocking the dual registration system and requiring that all registered voters in Kansas be permitted to vote in all elections.