KS Supreme Court upheld some controversial voting rules

TOPEKA (KSNT) - The Kansas Supreme Court upheld a set of controversial voting laws on Friday, which were contested by voting rights groups.

Nexstar's Kansas Capitol Bureau spoke with the Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach in an exclusive one-on-one interview. Kobach is touting the ruling as a victory, after three years of defending the laws in court.

One law restricts the amount of ballots people can collect and return to the election office. If it's more than 10 ballots, people could face jail time.

"The reason we have that in kansas law is to stop ballot harvesting," Kobach said. "They tried to make the claim, which was really a weak claim, they claimed that it infringed upon your first amendment free speech rights to limit the number of ballots other than your own that you can collect and deliver. It was a weak claim from the beginning and the supreme court rejected it and I'm glad they did."

However, opponents say it restricts people’s access to the ballot.

"Which really has a negative impact on folks for example in maybe a rural retirement home or disability group home where maybe there's only one person who could assist more than ten people, and now that'd be illegal for them to," Loud Light President Davis Hammet said.

The Kansas Supreme Court is also upholding a law requiring verification for mail ballots. However, opponents say it’s like flipping a coin.

"It's really up to the county clerk, just someone in a county office to say I don't think that signature matches, and be able to throw out your ballot," Hammet said.

Now a Shawnee County judge will decide if the law interferes with a person’s right to vote. The attorney general stands by it.

"The law gives voters an opportunity to correct any mismatch," Kobach said. "The county election office has to call you and give you an opportunity to correct your signature."

A third decision favors voting rights advocates. The measure that would make it illegal to impersonate an election official is being sent back to a lower court for review. Justices say they aren’t sold that it’s constitutional.

For more Capitol Bureau news, click here. Keep up with the latest breaking news in northeast Kansas by downloading our mobile app and by signing up for our news email alerts. Sign up for our Storm Track Weather app by clicking here.