United States District Judge Julie Robinson on Monday permanently struck down a Kansas law requiring proof of citizenship when individuals register to vote, the Topeka Capital-Journal reports. An earlier injunction had blocked the law temporarily.
The judge found that the law violated the National Voter Registration Act and the U.S. Constitution.
In the three years after the law took effect, about one in seven voter registration applications in the state were blocked because the individuals failed to provide proof of citizenship, the Associated Press reports.
The ruling addressed two lawsuits: one filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of voters and the Kansas League of Women Voters, and another filed by a college student.
In her decision, the judge said she found “no credible evidence that a substantial number of noncitizens registered to vote under the attestation regime.”
The decision was a loss for Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who led President Donald Trump‘s now-defunct voter fraud commission. Robinson ordered Kobach to attend six hours of continuing legal education classes as a sanction.
