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Showing Original Post only (View all)Kansas House passes voter citizenship bill [View all]
TOPEKA | Republicans on Thursday pushed a bill through the Kansas House requiring potential voters to prove their U.S. citizenship ahead of this year's election, although GOP senators are divided on whether the state will be ready to enforce the rule.
The House approved the bill 81-43, with all of the votes for it coming from Republicans. It would impose the proof-of-citizenship requirement for people registering to vote for the first time in Kansas starting June 15, more than six months ahead of schedule and in time for the normal surge before a presidential election.
Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who introduced the bill, says the rule combats election fraud, but critics believe it will suppress turnout among poor, minority and elderly voters.
Legislators approved a proof-of-citizenship rule last year but at the Senate's insistence it's not scheduled to take effect until Jan. 1, 2013. The Senate has a large GOP majority, but its leaders are less conservative than Kobach and his allies and hesitated to move too quickly to impose the requirement.
http://www.kansascity.com/2012/02/23/3447637/kansas-house-passes-voter-citizenship.html
What's the matter with Kansas?