TOPEKA, Kan. A federal judge on Wednesday found Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt of court in a case involving Kansas voting laws, her latest rebuke of the Republican candidate for governor.
Kobach is considered a GOP frontrunner despite his constant court battles involving voter fraud and strict voting requirements that he has pushed while in office as the states top election official.
In her ruling, U.S. District Judge Julie Robinson in Kansas City, Kan., referred repeatedly to Kobach as acting disingenuously.
Instead of a fine in the contempt matter, Robinson ordered Kobach to pay attorneys fees for the plaintiffs in the case.
The Court is troubled by Defendants failure to take responsibility for violating this Courts orders, and for failing to ensure compliance over an issue that he explicitly represented to the Court had been accomplished, Robinson wrote.
Kobach spokesman Moriah Day said the secretary of states office would be appealing Robinsons decision.
In 2016, Robinson ordered Kobach to fully register thousands of Kansas voters who had registered at the DMV but had failed to provide proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate or passport, as required by a Kansas law that Kobach crafted.
Robinson had earlier scolded Kobach for initially informing the voters covered by her order that they were registered only for the 2016 election and for failing to ensure that they receive the same postcard notifications about their registration as other voters.
Robinson told Kobach during a 2016 telephone conference that she would hold him responsible for directing counties to send out these postcards. He promised to do his best and narrowly dodged a contempt hearing in 2016 because of this agreement.
The American Civil Liberties Union filed a motion in January asking the judge to hold Kobach in contempt and to impose sanctions for failing to send the postcards and failing to update the states election manual.
(Kobach) was in contempt of the court order, but he also has just demonstrated this pattern of non-compliance with the federal law and disregard for the very idea that citizens have a right to participate in their democracy, said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas.
Robinson later added in Wednesdays ruling that Defendant is now in the process of sending the standard postcards to all registered voters.
Kobach is running against Gov. Jeff Colyer and two others for the GOP gubernatorial nomination this year. Kobach has greater name recognition than Colyer, who for the past seven years had been Gov. Sam Brownbacks lieutenant, but he has struggled to raise money.
Colyers spokesman declined to comment on the ruling Wednesday.
Kobach has advised President Donald Trump on potential changes to federal voting laws. He also has the support of the presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., who campaigned for Kobach late last year.
