Kansas Voters Report Callers Telling Them They Need Proof Of Home Ownership To Vote
Rachel Slajda
The Kansas attorney general has opened an investigation into reports that voters across Kansas have received calls giving them a slew of false information about the election: That the election has been moved to Wednesday, that they need to bring their voter registration cards to the polls and that they need proof of homeownership to vote.
"That's a felony," AG spokesperson Gavin Young tells TPMmuckraker. Young said the complaints were not concentrated in a specific area, but came from all over the state. Contrary to original reports of robocalls, Young said many of the voters said they received live calls from real people.
He wouldn't say how many complaints the office received, but noted that the bulk came in over the weekend, with another six or so coming in yesterday.
"We haven't seen this for quite a while," Young said. In 2000, reports of calls telling voters they needed their voter registration cards to vote lead to stricter voting intimidation laws in the state.
No ID or proof of home ownership is required at Kansas polls. First time voters, however, must bring an ID or a utility bill as proof of address.
The state Democratic party, which asked the attorney general (also a Dem) for the investigation, blamed the calls on Republicans, saying the calls came from "as yet unnamed Republican organization."
The state Republican party dismissed the notion and called into question whether the calls were even made.
"This is a desperate attempt by a desperate party," a spokeswoman, Ashley McMillan, told TPM. "We haven't seen any proof of a call like this going out."
McMillan added that if the call was real, it wasn't coming from the GOP.
Young admitted the office doesn't have a recording of the call yet, saying investigators are trying to track one down.
A spokesman for Secretary of State Chris Biggs, a Democrat who is running for election, said the calls were made by someone "who knows what they're doing," noting that messages haven't been left on answering machines.
A spokesman for Biggs' opponent, Kris Kobach -- who has been banging the drum of voter fraud -- said he hadn't heard the reports.
"This is evidence we need Kris Kobach in office," said the spokesman, Ben Davis, adding that such action is "deplorable."
tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/11/kansas_voters_report_callers_telling_them_they_nee.php
Nov. 2, 2010