Secretary of State Kobach announced proposed Kansas Secure and Fair Elections (SAFE) Act at press conference in Topeka on Tuesday

TOPEKA.  Secretary of State Kris Kobach on Tuesday discussed the introduction of a House Bill to prevent vote fraud and increase the integrity of Kansas elections.

The bill will introduce a government-issued photo ID requirement for voting in person at the polls.

Mail ballots would require either a copy of a government-issued photo ID, or simply the photo ID number.

New voters would be required to provide proof of citizenship, but existing voters would not face any new citizenship requirements.

Penalties would be strengthened under the bill for

• voting without being qualified
• voting more than once at the same election
• election tampering
• false impersonation of a voter
• illegal handling of advance voting ballots.

Attorney General Derek Schmidt, who was not able to attend the press conference, said in a prepared statement, “this legislation strengthens the ability of the attorney general’s office to prosecute cases when credible evidence exists that voter fraud has occurred.

See comments from cosponsors State Representatives Lance Kinzer (R, Olathe) and John Rubin (R, Shawnee) in the video and tweets below.

Kobach also announced a new “Stop Voter Fraud” page on the Secretary of State’s web site.

Tweets:

@KansasWatchdog: Secretary of State Kobach holding press conference about Kansas Secure and Fair Elections Act — 36 co-sponsors so far in the House. 02:05 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach said there was voter fraud in the very first election when Kansas became a state 150 years ago. 02:06 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach said his bill will require photo id to vote joining two other states with that requirement

Today 02:07 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says voters over 65 can use an expired gov. ID to vote. Kobach cites Indiana as example where no problem cases have been documented 02:09 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says his bill closes loop hole in advance voting. 2nd part of bill is proof of citizenship. 02:10 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says his bill will increase prosecution of voter fraud cases. Double voting to be a felony instead of misdemeanor. 02:12 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says it should be easy to vote, but hard to cheat. Says Kansas will be leader in fair elections. 02:13 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says he hopes Kansas becomes for vote fraud, what Arizona has become for illegal immigration.

Today 02:14 PM

@KansasWatchdog: State Rep Lance Kinzer speaking about bill. Started looking for cosponsors only today. 36 so far. 02:16 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kinzer says it doesn’t make sense to most voters that photo ID is not required to vote. Kinzer hopes for 50+ cosponsors. 02:17 PM

@KansasWatchdog: State Rep John Rubin says it’s past time for this bill. “It’s only common sense”. 02:18 PM

@KansasWatchdog: State Rep John Ruben: I cannot think of a reason to oppose this legislation. Cites 80 cases of known fraud in recent years. 02:20 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says there would be possible parallel prosecution with AG’s office. Had not decided whether to prosecute cases himself yet. 02:26 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says there will be more election-related bills, but this will be principal bill about voter fraud. 02:33 PM

@KansasWatchdog: Kobach says NAACP and League of Women Voters are simply wrong about voter ID suppressing voter turnout. 02:34 PM

• Groups speak against Kobach’s voter ID bill (video), Kansas Watchdog, Jan. 20, 2011.

• Press release:  Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach Introduces the Kansas Secure and Fair Elections (S.A.F.E.) Act, V. Kay Curtis, Kansas Secretary of State Public Affairs Director, Jan. 18, 2011.
• Draft copy of Kansas Secure and Fair Elections bill, Jan. 18, 2011.

• Kobach proposes election fraud reforms, Kansas Reporter, Jan. 18, 2011.
• Secretary seeks new legal powers, Hutchinson News, Jan. 18, 2011.
• Kobach outlines proposals to fight voter fraud in Kansas, Kansas City Star, Jan. 18, 2011.

• The Kansas Voter Coalition to hold Press Conference on Jan. 19 at the State Capitol on Voter ID, Wichita NAACP, Jan. 2, 2011.
• Kansas has almost 138,000 inactive voters, Kansas Watchdog, Oct. 25, 2010.
• Kansas Driver’s License has enough info to change online voter registration, Kansas Watchdog, July 31, 2010.