How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

Who is Kris Kobach?

Kris Kobach is Kansas Secretary of State1. He is backed by the Koch Brothers2. In

2016, Allen Richardson, a Koch lobbyist, was unaware that a reporter was in attendance at a

hunting lodge in Kansas when he said: The Koch brothers out with the Republican secretaries

of state thats a news story I dont need.3

What was Mr. Kobach up to after 9/11?

After 9/11, Mr. Kobach introduced his Muslim Ban legislation to President

George W. Bush. Huffington Post reported:

In June 2002, Ashcroft and Kobach rolled out the National Security Entry-Exit
Registration System. The program required that men 16 and older from certain countries
register in person with fingerprinting and questioning with the Immigration and
Naturalization Service when coming into the country. But NSEERS also said that men on
visas from certain countries who were already in the United States also had to go to INS
offices and register. The program covered 25 countries. The vast majority of them were
predominantly Muslim nations.

Even folks within the Bush administration we worked with at the time knew that it was a
waste of time and a waste of resources. ... Its clearly profiling. Its clearly singling out
Arabs and Muslims. Its a very problematic program, said Abed Ayoub, legal and policy
director for the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee. The organization filed a
lawsuit against the federal government over the program in 2002.4

1 Kansas Secretary of State website, https://www.kansansforkobach.com/ (last accessed on February 13,

2017).

2 Trumps GOP Hitma Whos Stealing your Vote, http://www.gregpalast.com/trumps-gop-hitman-whos-

stealing-your-vote-the-best-democracy-money-can-buy-podcast/, (last accessed on February 13, 2017);

3 These Officials Help Write Ballot Questions. Companies Write them Checks,
https://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/05/us/politics/secretaries-of-state-elections-ballot-initiatives.html, (last
accessed on February 13, 2017).

4 Potential Trump Attorney General Created A Muslim Registry During the Bush Administration,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/kris-kobach-muslim-registry_us_582cd1e2e4b058ce7aa901ff, (last
accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

What was Mr. Kobach up to over the last several years?

In 2010 Mr. Kobach was the architect behind Arizonas unconstitutional SB 1070 bill

aimed at undocumented immigrants.5 That bill was just testing the waters and it did not pass the

constitutional muster.

In 2016 The Voting News reported:

Back in 2005, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach who as chair of his states
Republican Party championed an illegal voter suppression technique called caging
launched a program called Interstate Crosscheck to compare voter registration data across
states and ferret out evidence of double voting. The program has since expanded to 30
states, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCLS), but its been
controversial from the start. For one thing, its resulted in very few actual cases of fraud
being referred for prosecution, as alleged cases of double voting in multiple states turned
out to be clerical and other errors. One tally found that while the program flagged 7.2
million possible double registrants, no more than four have actually been charged with
deliberate double registration or double voting. Meanwhile, some states including
Florida dropped out of the program due to doubts about the reliability of its data though
others, including the swing state of North Carolina, joined despite those issues.6

5 SB 1079 author Kris Kobach joins Donald trump immigration transition team,
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/politicalinsider/2016/11/11/sb1070-author-kris-kobach-
joins-donald-trump-immigration-transition-team/93628108/, (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

6 National: Controversial anti-voter fraud program risks disenfranchising voters through racial bias,
reports finds, https://thevotingnews.com/tag/interstate-crosscheck/ (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

Reporter Greg Palast confront Trump ally Kris Kobach, Secretary of State of Kansas from

the video by Zach D. Roberts.

Who is Greg Palast?

In August, 2016, Greg Palast, an investigative reporter for the Rolling Stone Magazine,

uncovered the Interstate Crosscheck System and predicted that this voter suppression system would steal

the election for the Republicans across the country. On November 8, 2016, he was proven right. Through

his investigation Mr. Palast was able to obtain a copy of the Crosscheck list because of a clerical error in

Virginia. In his article Mr. Palast wrote:

The [voter roll] data is processed through a system called the Interstate Voter Registration
Crosscheck Program, which is being promoted by a powerful Republican operative [Kris
Kobach], and its lists of potential duplicate voters are kept confidential. But Rolling
Stone obtained a portion of the list and the names of 1 million targeted voters. According to our
analysis, the Crosscheck list disproportionately threatens solid Democratic constituencies: young,
black, Hispanic and Asian-American voters with some of the biggest possible purges underway
in Ohio and North Carolina, two crucial swing states with tight Senate races. . . .

On its surface, Crosscheck seems quite reasonable. Twenty-eight participating states share their
voter lists and, in the name of dispassionate, race-blind Big Data, seek to ensure the rolls are up to
date. To make sure the system finds suspect voters, Crosscheck supposedly matches first, middle

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

and last name, plus birth date, and provides the last four digits of a Social Security number for
additional verification. . . .

In all, 342,556 names were listed as apparently registered to vote in both Virginia and another
state as of January 2014. Thirteen percent of the people on the Crosscheck list, already flagged as
inactive voters, were almost immediately removed, meaning a stunning 41,637 names were
"canceled" from voter rolls, most of them just before Election Day. . . .
This inherent bias results in an astonishing one in six Hispanics, one in seven Asian-Americans
and one in nine African-Americans in Crosscheck states landing on the list. Was the program
designed to target voters of color?7

Shortly after the 2016 election Greg Palast wrote: Officially, Donald Trump won Michigan by

10,704 votes. But a record 75,335 votes were never counted. Most of these votes that went missing were

in Detroit and Flint. He further wrote:

Bill Schuette, the Republican attorney general of Michigan shut down the recount. Schuette
issued an order saying that no one would be allowed to look at the ballots in over half the
precincts, 59%, in the Detroit areathe very place that most of the votes had gone missing.
Back in Detroit, some of the votes missing resulted when 87 machines, responsible for counting
thousands of ballots, broke down. We went to speak with the secretary of state, whose spokesman
said the missing votes in Detroit were simply people who waited in line but didnt want to vote
for president.

And so the recount slogged through, uncovering missing votes and missing voters that could
change the presidency. So Republicans rushed in to shut down the recount completely. Wisconsin,
Pennsylvania, here in Michiganwe may be way north of the Mason-Dixon Line, but the
elections are still run by Jim Crow.8

Most importantly, what Interstate Crosscheck did was throw targeted people off the voter rolls

without notifying them. Ben Gelblum writing for The London Economic9 writes:

Palasts investigators calculated 1.1 million people, many spread over crucial swing states
were deprived of their right to vote last Tuesday.

According to the exit polls last Tuesday, 88% of black voters voted for Hillary Clinton, as well as
65% of hispanic and asian American voters.
7 The GOPs Stealth War Against voters, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/the-gops-stealth-
war-against-voters-w435890, (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

8 Palast Reports for Democracy Now!: By Rejecting Recount, Is Michigan Covering up 75,000 Ballots
Never Counted? http://www.gregpalast.com/palast-report-democracy-nowby-rejecting-recount-michigan-
covering-75000-ballots-never-counted/,(last accessed on February 13, 2017).

9 Donald Trump was right: THE ELECTION WAS RIGGED. In his favour.
http://www.thelondoneconomic.com/tle-pick/donald-trump-was-right-the-election-was-rigged-in-his-
favour/15/11/, (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

The list is loaded overwhelmingly with voters of colour and the poor, says Palast. Many didnt
discover that their vote was stolen until they turned up last Tuesday and found their name
missing. In the US they are given something called a provisional ballot, but if your name is not on
the voter roll, you can fill out all the provisional votes you like theyre not going to count your
vote. They cant even if youre wrongly removed.

Trumps victory margin in Michigan was 13,107 and the Michigan Crosscheck purge list
was 449,922. Trumps victory margin in Arizona- 85,257, Arizona Crosscheck purge list-
270,824;. Trumps victory margin in North Carolina was 177,008 and the North Carolina
Crosscheck purge list had 589,393 people on it.
States, particularly those controlled by Republicans, made several changes this year, such as
stricter voter ID laws and polling booths, to make voting harder in a way that targeted generally
Democrat-voting ethnic minority voters. There were reports of ridiculously long queues. As this
is not the first election this has happened in, it appears to be a deliberate tactic. 10

What has Mr. Kobach been up to in Kansas?

If youd like to know more about Mr. Kobachs past efforts to restrict voting in Kansas, heres the

timeline according to The Kansas City Star newspaper:

March 29, 2011: The Kansas Legislature passes an elections reform bill, the Secure and Fair
Elections Act, which requires people to provide evidence of U.S. citizenship such as a
passport, birth certificate or naturalization papers in order to register to vote.
Jan. 1, 2013: The SAFE Act goes fully into effect, requiring Kansas election officials to
refuse to register any prospective voters who do not provide proof of citizenship documents.
June 17, 2013: The U.S. Supreme Court blocks states from requiring proof of citizenship for
registering to vote in federal elections. The court says that states cannot impose proof-of-
citizenship requirements above those set on the federal voter registration. But the high court left
open the ability for the states to request that the U.S. Election Assistance Commission change the
federal form for their states.
Aug. 2, 2013: Kobach and Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett file a federal lawsuit seeking
to force the EAC to grant their requests to add proof-of-citizenship requirements to the federal
voter registration form used by residents in their states. U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren orders
the EAC to add the proof of citizenship requirement to the federal form, but his ruling is quickly
blocked by the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Aug. 5, 2014: Kobach institutes a two-tiered voting system in the Kansas primary election that
counts only ballots cast in federal races and not those in state and local contests from voters
who registered using a national form.
Nov. 7, 2014: The 10th Circuit rules Kansas and Arizona residents can register to vote using a
federal form without having to provide proof of citizenship, rejecting the states arguments that
the EAC has a duty to grant their requests to change the federal form.
June 29, 2015: The U.S. Supreme Court refuses to hear Kobachs appeal seeking to force the
EAC to change its federal registration form for Kansas and Arizona residents.

10 Ethnic Votes Stolen in Crucial States, http://www.gregpalast.com/ethnic-votes-stolen-crucial-states-

help-fix-us-election-trump-reveals-greg-palast/, (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

Sept. 2, 2015: As the number of prospective voters on the Kansas suspension list grows to more
than 35,000, an administrative rule proposed by Kobach allows election officials to purge
registration applications older than 90 days.
Sept. 7, 2015: Two young Kansas residents file a federal lawsuit seeking to prevent the state
from requiring them to document their U.S. citizenship and to keep election officials from
removing their names and thousands of others from registration rolls.
Jan. 15, 2016: Shawnee County District Judge Franklin Theis rules Kobach has no legislative
authority to impose a two-tier voting system in which some voters who registered using the
national form can cast votes only in federal races, and not state or local races. The Kansas judge
found the right to vote in Kansas is not tied to the method of registration.
Feb. 1, 2016: Brian Newby, the new executive director of the EAC, unilaterally and without
public notice changes the instructions on the federal voter registration form for Kansas, Alabama
and Georgia. Newby, a former elections commissioner for Johnson County. Kobach appointed to
Newby to his previous Kansas job.
Feb. 12, 2016: The League of Women Voters and a coalition of civil rights group file a federal
lawsuit against Newby and the EAC in Washington, D.C., seeking to overturn Newbys actions.
Kobach later joins the lawsuit on Newbys behalf.
Feb. 18, 2016: The American Civil Liberties Union files a federal lawsuit in Kansas contending
that people trying to register to vote at Kansas motor vehicle offices are being forced to provide
documentary proof of citizenship in violation of federal law.
May 17, 2016: U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson temporarily orders Kansas to allow people
who registered at motor vehicle offices to vote in federal elections, finding the state law likely
violates a provision in the National Voter Registration Act that requires only minimal
information to determine a voters eligibility.
June 29, 2016: U.S District Judge Richard Leon in Washington, D.C., refuses to block Newbys
actions, finding that proof of citizenship requirements to register to vote are not burdensome. The
League of Women Voters subsequently appeals to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of
Columbia.
July 12, 2016: The State Rules and Regulation Board in Kansas issues a temporary rule
proposed by Kobach that orders election officials to only count votes cast for federal races and
not state and local races from Kansas voters who registered at motor vehicle offices without
providing citizenship documents. The 120-day temporary rule extends through Nov. 8, the date of
the general election.
July 19, 2016: The American Civil Liberties Union files a Kansas lawsuit challenging Kobachs
latest rule setting up a two-tier election system. 11

An end to the Election Assistance Commission

On February 7, 2017, Ari Berman with USA Today reported that House Republicans voted to

eliminate the only federal agency that makes sure voting machines cant be hacked. Mr. Berman notes:

Its particularly ironic that the Trump administration is preparing to launch a massive investigation into

nonexistent voter fraud based on the lie that millions voted illegally while House Republicans are shutting

11 Timeline of Kris Kobachs drive to restrict voting in Kansas,

http://www.kansascity.com/news/state/kansas/article90723752.html (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

down the agency that is supposed to make sure Americas elections are secure. Its more proof of how the

GOPs real agenda is to make it harder to vote. 12

12 House Republicans Just Voted to Eliminate the Only Federal Agency That Makes Sure Voting
Machines Cant be Hacked, https://www.thenation.com/article/house-republicans-just-voted-to-eliminate-
the-only-federal-agency-that-makes-sure-voting-machines-cant-be-hacked/, (last accessed on February
13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

This is what Interstate Crosscheck looks like13:

Joan Reports recently wrote for Daily Kos in January, 2017:

The three states' lists analyzed by Al Jazeera America are heavily weighted with names such as
Jackson, Garcia, Patel and Kim -- names common among African-Americans, Hispanics and
Asian-Americans, groups who typically vote Democratic.

1 in 7 African-Americans in those 27 states are listed as under suspicion of having voted twice, 1
in 8 Asian-Americans and 1 in 8 Hispanic voters. For white voters, the number is 1 in 11. . . .

13 The election hack that may be as big as Russias hack,

https://www.dailykos.com/story/2017/01/16/1621075/-The-election-hack-that-may-be-as-big-as-Russia-s-
hack, (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

Realize that once someone is a suspect on purge list maintained by the SoS [Secretary of State] or
county elections board, when they show up to vote, they may be forced to vote by Provisional
Ballot.

Provisional ballots are not counted on Election Day, and are not resolved until further
investigation satisfies elections officials. I havent found it easy to find the count of provisional
ballots in states like PA and Michigan, to see how many would be voters were diverted, and how
many such ballots were eventually discarded or counted

Nick Chiles wrote for Atlanta Black Star on October 29, 2014:

Already more than 41,000 voters have been removed from the rolls in Virginia using the
Crosscheck list. In many other states, millions of voters may turn up to the polls next week to
find that they have been flagged as a potential fraud suspect.

But after officials in three states Georgia, Virginia and Washington turned their
Crosscheck lists over to Al Jazeera America, representing more than 2 million names, the
publication was able to determine just how ridiculously inadequate the name-matching system
used by Interstate Crosscheck is.

Crosscheck compiled its lists by matching names from roughly 110 million voter records from
the 27 participating states, a process Al Jazeera America said has been spearheaded by Kansas
controversial Republican secretary of state, Kris Kobach, who has made a name for himself as
a crusader against voter fraud. Of the 27
participating states, 20 have Republican secretaries of state, while seven are Democrats. The
participating states are primarily concentrated in the South and Midwest.

But the Al Jazeera investigation showed middle names are commonly mismatched, suffix
discrepancies are ignored, birth dates werent taken into account and the process deliberately
ignores Social Security mismatches in the few instances when the numbers are even
collected.

In advising county election officials, Crosschecks instructions say, Social Security numbers
are included for verification; the numbers might or might not match.

So all it really takes to become suspected of voter fraud and potentially have your name
scrubbed from the rolls so that you cant vote is to share a first and last name with a voter in
another state.

The three states lists analyzed by Al Jazeera America are heavily weighted with names such as
Jackson, Garcia, Patel and Kim names common among African-Americans, Hispanics and
Asian-Americans, groups who typically vote Democratic. 14

14 Investigation Reveals Shocking Effort by States to Remove Blacks, Hispanics, Asians from Voting
Rolls: http://atlantablackstar.com/2014/10/29/investigation-reveals-shocking-effort-states-remove-blacks-
hispanics-asians-voting-rolls/ (last accessed on February 13, 2017)

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

Finally, please take a look at the discrepancy between exit polls versus reported vote count table

below. As you can see, according to exit polls, Hillary Clinton was on track to win North Carolina,

Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Florida. However, the voters either lied during exit polling OR they

thought that they their votes actually counted when they didnt :

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 How Kris Kobach stole the 2016 elections for the Republicans

With this illegitimate one party rule it is not more essential than ever for us to fight for our voting

rights. Please do whatever you can to investigate this modern racist form of voter suppression. Please

make other legislators aware of this issue and do not allow Rhode Island to join Interstate Crosscheck. I

believe that for all intents and purposes this is the most underreported story in the news today.

The Washington Post reported that one Kansas voter was stunned to find out recently that his

name was purged from the Kansas voting rolls because of a requirement he did not know about: He had to

prove he was a U.S. citizen.15 Just imagine if the new forms of voter suppression demand voters to

produce passports to vote. You must suspect that such a policy would disproportionately affect people of

color.

15 Want to vote in this state? You have to have a passport or dig up a birth certificate.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2016/02/19/how-kansas-has-become-a-
battleground-state-for-voting-rights/?utm_term=.f0a5dfcf6389 (last accessed on February 13, 2017).

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