Requiring the secretary of state to enter into agreements with credit rating agencies for the release of certain information that can be used to verify the citizenship of persons registered to vote in this state.
Impact
If enacted, HB2143 will have a profound impact on how voter registration works in Kansas. The bill aims to streamline the process of verifying citizenship, a move that supporters argue is necessary to prevent voter fraud. It would require county election officers to act upon notifications regarding individuals who may be noncitizens, and this could lead to a significant purge of the voter registration lists. The law stipulates that individuals removed from the rolls will have the opportunity to restore their registration by proving their citizenship, thus introducing a layer of accountability to the voter registration process.
Summary
House Bill 2143 mandates that the Secretary of State enter into agreements with credit rating agencies to facilitate the release of personal information such as names, addresses, and social security numbers, which will be used to verify the citizenship status of individuals registered to vote in Kansas. The primary goal of this bill is to ensure that only eligible citizens are allowed to participate in elections, thereby enhancing the integrity of the electoral process. The bill proposes measures to identify and remove noncitizens from the voter rolls, a point which has sparked various debates around its implications and execution.
Contention
Opposition to HB2143 centers around concerns that it may disproportionately affect eligible voters, particularly among marginalized communities. Critics argue that relying on credit rating agencies to verify citizenship status can lead to inaccuracies and unfair disenfranchisement of lawful voters. There are fears that the bill could foster an atmosphere of intimidation among voters, discouraging participation in elections due to the potential for removal based on flawed data. Furthermore, the debates touch upon the broader implications of voter suppression and the balance between securing elections and upholding citizens' rights to vote.
Requiring the secretary of state to revise the information collected from persons registering to vote to ensure that the state may utilize the systematic alien verification of entitlements program (SAVE) to delete non-citizens from voter registration rolls.
Requiring that discharged inmates be offered the opportunity to register to vote and requiring the secretary of state to develop a voter registration program that offers voter registration services through certain state agencies and at each accredited high school.
Requiring correction of voter registration lists when notice is provided by a court that a person is disqualified from jury service due to not being a citizen of the United States.
Enacting the interstate teacher mobility compact to recognize equivalent teacher licenses across member states, requiring that licensing bodies provide verified electronic credentials to all credential holders based on their credentials from other jurisdictions and requiring licensing bodies to use centralized electronic credential data management systems capable of providing instantaneous credential verification.
Requiring verification of residential addresses of registered voters and creating the crime of falsifying a residential address for purposes of voter registration.
Requiring the secretary of state to periodically review state voter registration rolls to investigate when multiple voters utilize the same residential area address and when there are persons with discrepancies in the spelling of names at that address.
Requiring the secretary of state to join the electronic registration information center (ERIC) to aid state and local officials in keeping voter registration rolls current.
House Substitute for SB 291 by Committee on Legislative Modernization - Transferring all cybsersecurity services under the chief information technology officer of each branch of government, creating chief information security officers within the judicial and legislative branches, requiring a chief information security officer to be appointed by the attorney general, Kansas bureau of investigation, secretary of state, state treasurer and insurance commissioner and requiring the chief information security officers to implement certain minimum cybersecurity standards, requiring the information technology executive council to develop a plan to integrate executive branch information technology services under the executive chief information technology officer, making and concerning appropriations for the fiscal years ending June 30, 2025, and June 30, 2026, for the office of information technology, Kansas information security office and the adjutant general, authorizing certain transfers and imposing certain limitations and restrictions and directing or authorizing certain disbursements and procedures for all state agencies and requiring legislative review of state agencies not in compliance with this act.
Requiring the secretary for children and families to release certain information related to a child fatality when criminal charges are filed alleging that a person caused such fatality.