HUTCHINSON — Secretary of State Kris Kobach boasted that 51 percent voter turnout in November 2014 showed that requirements to prevent voter fraud actually can improve turnout.
Speaking Dec. 2 at the Patriot Freedom Alliance meeting in Hutchinson, Kobach pointed out that participation in the midterm general election in November 2010 – prior to the new voter rules – was 50 percent.
Kobach successfully sought legislation to require voter photo identification, to add security for mail ballots, and to mandate proof of citizenship for new voters. Critics charged the law would suppress voter turnout.
“The argument is dead,” Kobach said.
Kobach’s selection of 2010 as a benchmark made 51 percent appear good. He didn’t mention, though, the 52 percent turnout rate in the 2006 midterm, or the 53 percent turnout in 2002.
He selected 2010 for comparison, he told the audience, because the election circumstances in 2010 were “extremely similar to this year,” with interesting races.
The country had an unpopular president in 2010 — President Obama — and Kansas had an open race for governor and the U.S. Senate on the ballot, Kobach said.
In 2010, Kansans had a “very competitive” race for governor, and a “very competitive” Senate race, especially in the August 2010 primary but in the general election as well, Kobach said.
