Kobach obtains fourth illegal voting conviction

In this photo taken Monday, Jan. 12, 2015, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach presides over the Kansas House while new members are sworn in during the opening day of the Kansas legislature in Topeka, Kan.

WICHITA — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says a Wichita man who voted in Kansas and Colorado during the same election has agreed to pay $5,500 in fines.

The guilty pleas from Ron R. Weems mark the fourth conviction Kobach has obtained since receiving prosecutorial authority from the Kansas Legislature last year. In exchange for those pleas, Kobach dismissed two felony charges of election perjury.

Weems was convicted of two counts of voting without being qualified and one count unlawful advance voting.

The complaint alleges he voted illegally in Kansas in the 2012 and 2014 general elections, while also voting in Teller County in the same elections.

Kobach says in a news release that the prosecutions demonstrate the commitment to ensuring Kansas has the most secure elections in the country.