TOPEKA ? A judge has rejected a claim that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach has no legal authority to file a lawsuit seeking to force the U.S. Election Assistance Commission to modify the federal voter registration form.

U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren on Thursday denied a request by voting rights organizations that had intervened and then sought to dismiss the lawsuit. The court found that Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt had authorized Kobach to handle the litigation.

Kansas and Arizona sued in a bid to force the commission to require proof-of-citizenship documents from residents of their states who use the federal registration form.

Several groups including Valley del Sol, Southwest Voter Registration Education Project, Common Cause and others had challenged Kobach’s authority to file the lawsuit on behalf of Kansas.