TOPEKA — A civil rights advisory panel says a Kansas law requiring people to show photo ID at the polls and provide proof-of-citizenship documents to register to vote may discriminate against minorities.
It also urges the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division to investigate whether the Kansas law violates federal voting laws.
The Kansas City Star first reported on the draft report from the Kansas Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission of Civil Rights.
The Safe and Fair Elections Act passed in 2011 has been championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as a way to prevent voter fraud.
Kobach calls concerns that the state law was written and implemented with discriminatory intent an outrageous accusation.
A Democratic lawmaker introduced a bill on Monday to repeal it based on the report.
