State GOP leaders are putting a new voter ID requirement at the top of their legislative priorities, saying they fear that illegal immigrants are being registered to vote.
House Speaker Melvin Neufeld, R-Ingalls, pointed to “potentially thousands of those registrations out there, so it is important that we protect the integrity of this next election,†he said.
But there’s no evidence of illegal immigrant voters undermining the polls in Kansas — not one documented case.
Of far greater concern is the certainty that new photo ID requirements actually would dampen turnout by legitimate U.S. citizens. The fact is, many elderly who don’t drive and low-income residents have trouble producing or locating the right kind of identification.
Shouldn’t the goal be to help more people vote, not make it more difficult for them?
Vote ID supporters need to offer more proof that there is a real fraud problem. So far, it just sounds like more immigrant fearmongering.
