Kansas voters win as Kris Kobach loses again

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s bogus voter fraud campaigns have never been backed up with facts.

Just weeks ago, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson pointed out that only three noncitizens had voted in a federal election in Kansas between 1995 and 2013. She included that fact as she ruled against one of Kobach’s attempts to disenfranchise thousands of voters.

And after the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals refused to stop that ruling from taking effect, Kobach caved in Tuesday to meet a court order.

The Republican official finally provided instructions to election officials across Kansas on their duty to register at least 18,000 people whose eligibility for federal elections had been in limbo.

Many more could be registered before the November elections, which could mean up to 50,000 people could be helped by the judicial actions.

Kobach had pushed through a Kansas law that insisted people provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote, including when they get their driver’s licenses. Robinson said that likely violated laws designed to make it easier to vote in federal elections.

Kobach had whined to the appeals court that complying with Robinson’s ruling would be extremely hard to do. Judges properly ignored that specious reasoning from the guy who caused the problem in the first place.

Johnson County Election Commissioner Ronnie Metsker had the right attitude when he said of the late changes, “I don’t think it will be an insurmountable issue.

Kansans deserve that kind of proactive leadership from public officials responsible for helping eligible citizens cast a ballot. The incompetent Kobach still refuses to provide it.

This story was originally published June 15, 2016 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Kansas voters win as Kris Kobach loses again."