The Kansas Voter Coalition to hold Press Conference at the State Capitol on Voter ID

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The Voter Coalition will hold a Press Conference to voice our opposition and provide information concerning the proposed Voter ID bill.

The Kansas Voter Coalition is made up of the Kansas State NAACP, the Kansas State League of Women Voters, the Kansas Chapter of the National Organization for Women, the Kansas Equality Coalition, the Kansas chapter of the ACLU, the Wichita chapter of Church Women United, the Sedgwick County Council of Elders, the Peace and Social Justice Center, and YOU...

The Kansas Voter Coalition has come together in opposition to the proposed Voter ID Legislation being offered by Secretary of State Kobach. We oppose this legislation on several grounds.

First, of the nearly 10,000,000 votes cast in the last six years throughout the State of Kansas, there have been only six reported cases of Voter Fraud and only 1 was successfully prosecuted. You statistically have a better chance of being stricken twice by lightning than of encountering an genuine act of Voter Fraud in Kansas. What does that mean? It means our system IS WORKING and there is NO concrete evidence to suggest otherwise.

Second, The Indiana Supreme Court has ruled, and Secretary Kobach has suggested, that the only way a Voter ID bill can pass muster, is if the State is willing to provide the ID's free of charge to those who can not afford one. This would require the creation of a new bureaucracy to manage the distribution of Voter ID cards to combat a problem that can not empirically be shown to even exist. As a State we have a $450,000,000 shortfall, so why in the world would we create a new bureaucracy with new salaries and FTE's to monitor and distribute ID cards that the State will foot the bill for, in perpetuity?

Third, there is a hidden government mandate. Each year, hundreds of Seniors reach a point in their lives where they may elect to stop driving. This bill states that even if a Senior decides to stop driving and no longer needs to maintain a current ID, they will be mandated to purchase one if they intend to exercise their Constitutionally guaranteed rights. The only exception would be if they could prove to the new bureaucracy that it would pose a financial hardship; in which case the State would foot the bill.

and lastly but perhaps most profoundly, this bill; a solution to problem whose existence can NOT be demonstrated empirically, would have the likely impact of reducing voter turnout among legal registered voters. In fact recent studies by Brown University and the Brennan center have clearly provided the type of empirical data that this bills proponents lack. In States that have Voter ID Bills on the books, there is a demonstrable reduction in Voter turnout, and that reduction is most profound in the African American community and among Seniors.

Join us as we call on our elected officials to just say NO. We just don't need Secretary Kobach using tax dollars to radically experiment with our electoral system, in an effort to solve a problem that can not be shown to exist.

If you would like to become a part of this effort, you can begin by joining with us on January 19th at the State Capitol Building!

What: The Kansas Voter Coalition hosts a Press Conference to discuss our opposition to the proposed Voter ID Bill
When: January 19th 11:30am - 1:00pm
Where: Room 144 South in the State Capitol Building
Who: This event is open to the public.