Law requiring a birth certificate to register to vote advances to appeals court
The debate over how to sift out illegal voters from legal ones has reached the federal appeals court level, making it possible the Supreme Court eventually will rule whether a state can demand a birth certificate to register to vote.
The case before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver centers on a 2011 Kansas law, the Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). In June, a district court judge struck down the law, with biting criticism of analysts who contend a large number of noncitizens nationwide vote illegally, tilting close elections to Democrats. Judge Julia A. Robinson said the Kansas legislation violated federal law and the 14th Amendment guarantee to equal protection.
The law, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, is vigorously defended by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a nationally known Republican locked in a tight governor’s race. His own primary battle was so close the state attorney general cited it in a brief to the 10th Circuit as a race that could be influenced by illegal votes.
A backdrop is this: the U.S. count of noncitizens is growing. A Yale study says there may be twice as many immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — 20 million — than other analyses have found. That means the population of immigrants, most of whom are over 18, has reached 30 million. The U.S. has about 245 million residents 18 and older.
Amid Tuesday’s elections for control of Congress, conservatives and liberals have starkly different views. The right say thousands break the law by voting, while liberal scholars say the count is so small as to be statistically zero.
“This case should end up at the Supreme Court if the 10th Circuit doesn’t overturn the district court opinion,” said Hans von Spakovsky, a lawyer and Heritage Foundation election law expert. “The opinion is wrong on both the law and the facts. There is no violation of federal law simply because Kansas is trying to verify the citizenship of registered voters.”
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2018/nov/4/birth-certificate-voter-registration-law-moves-app/