Kansas secretary of state candidates meet for second debate

? Republican Secretary of State Kris Kobach disclosed Wednesday night that he earns between $30,000 and $100,000 a year from his legal work outside his official duties as Kansas’ top elections official, but his Democratic opponent said she thinks he is understating the figure.

Former state senator Jean Schodorf pressed Kobach on his outside compensation during their second televised debate. She’s made it a major issue in her attempt to deny him a second, four-year term in the Nov. 4 election.

The two candidates also sparred over two election laws enacted at Kobach’s urging. A 2012 law requires all voters to show photo ID at the polls, while a 2013 statute requires new voters to provide proof of their U.S. citizenship when registering. Kobach said Wednesday that Kansas now has the best anti-fraud laws in the nation, while Schodorf said the laws have been poorly administered, in a way that suppresses turnout.

On the issue of outside work, Schodorf accused Kobach of being a part-time secretary of state. He dismissed the allegation, saying he handles the work in relatively few hours a week during his spare time. He said the annual figure varies widely because the volume of his legal work varies.

The Republican incumbent is a former law professor who gained a national reputation for advising officials in other states who want to crack down on illegal immigration. He helped to write tough laws in Alabama and Arizona.

Kobach receives $86,000 as secretary of state, but he defended his outside work after the debate broadcast live from the studio of Topeka public television station KTWU, saying he has a large family. He has four children, with a fifth on the way.

“My wife stays home, and we want to keep it that way,” Kobach said. “The only way for my wife to be able to stay home is for me to have a little bit of extra income, and that’s why I work in my spare time.”

Schodorf raised the issue during a segment of the debate in which the candidates were allowed to ask each other a question. She said several times that she would be a full-time secretary of state.

“This is the issue of the election — part-time employment, conflicts, working for himself and not the people of Kansas,” Schodorf said after the debate.

Asked about the figure Kobach gave, she said, “I don’t believe it.”

Schodorf released income tax returns in August and challenged him to do so; he declined. Candidates have to file financial disclosure forms with the state, but they only have to list clients who paid them more than $2,000, not list the actual amount.

When Kobach had an opportunity to ask Schodorf a question, he asked why, as a state senator, she supported a 2004 law granting in-state tuition to immigrants whose parents brought them to the U.S. illegally. Schodorf, from Wichita, served 12 years in the Senate as a Republican, lost her seat to a conservative rival in the 2012 primary and switched parties to challenge Kobach.

“It’s unfathomable to me why anyone would want to do that,” Kobach said. “You’re taking dollars that we Kansans have paid into the system and giving them to someone who has no right to be in the United States.”

Schodorf replied that she does not want to punish children for the actions of their parents.

“I believe in helping children,” she said. “These are wonderful children who have a future.”