TOPEKA — A proposal to strip the Kansas secretary of state’s office of its power to prosecute voter fraud cases has cleared its first major hurdle in the Legislature.
The bill endorsed Wednesday by a House committee would dismantle a key piece of former Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s political legacy.
The Corrections and Juvenile Justice Committee’s unanimous voice vote sends the bill to the House for debate.
Kobach received prosecution power in 2015 after arguing that his office needed the power to pursue cases on its own because local prosecutors often don’t have time.
He is an attorney but new Secretary of State Scott Schwab is not. Schwab and Attorney General Derek Schmidt backed the bill.
Kobach left office earlier this month after losing the governor’s race last year.
