Members of the Kansas University Young Democrats have been accused of threatening to exclude voter-registration forms submitted by Republicans.

Douglas County Clerk Patty Jaimes reported the Sept. 15 incident to the KU Public Safety Office on behalf of three students who informed her of the situation.

Under state law, collecting voter registration forms and not turning them in to election officials is “election suppression,” a felony crime that carries a maximum penalty of 13 months in prison.

According to Capt. Schuyler Bailey of the Public Safety Office, students “were told, jokingly or otherwise, ‘It doesn’t look like you registered with the right party.'”

He said officers were attempting to contact those who were working the campus registration drive that day, and eventually would forward the results of their investigation to Douglas County Dist. Atty. Christine Kenney.

The Student Legislative Awareness Board has set up a noontime registration table on Wescoe Beach most days this semester. Katie Wolff, Student Legislative Awareness Board legislative director, said KU Young Democrats worked the table Sept. 15.

She said she thought some of the Democrats working the table previously had been paid by candidates for each Democrat they registered. She said one of them made a comment about not being paid to register Republicans.

“I have spoken with our campus safety officers about the incident,” Wolff said. “I don’t think (the students) were trying to disenfranchise the voters who were trying to register as Republicans.”

Kathleen Daughety, president of the Young Democrats, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

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Under federal law, universities must provide nonpartisan voter registration materials to students. KU officials have delegated that responsibility to the Student Legislative Awareness Board.

Wolff said the board did not have someone overseeing the registration drive Sept. 15. The organization has since changed its policy and now has someone at all registration events.

Jaimes said she was simply interested in making the voter-registration process fair for everyone involved.

“They do need to make it open for all people to register,” Jaimes said. “When they open up a stand for voter registration, it’s supposed to be open for everybody. It’s a democratic process, and registration is supposed to be part of it.”

— Staff writer Mark Fagan contributed information to this report.