WICHITA, Kan. (AP) A federal appeals court has upheld the way Kansas deals with small political parties.
The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday for Kansas in a lawsuit by the Constitution Party of Kansas, which is not among the parties recognized by the state. The Constitution Party filed suit over the secretary of state’s refusal to allow people to affiliate with it when registering to vote.
In a summary judgment last year, a federal judge said the state’s system of tracking party affiliation did not unconstitutionally burden the rights of the Constitution Party.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach argued the case before the appeals court. Kobach says in a news release that Tuesday’s ruling spares the state from having to track an untold number of political parties.