Editorial: Kobach again clings to secrecy

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s ridiculous contention that he serves on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity as a private citizen tells voters all they need to know about the gubernatorial candidate’s commitment — or lack thereof — to transparency and open records.

Earlier this month, it became public that the members of President Trump’s voter fraud commission, on which Kobach serves as co-chair, were using private email accounts to conduct business. The private email accounts were revealed in filings in a lawsuit brought in July by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which argued that the commission has failed to produce documents it was required to release to the public. The filing states that, during a phone conference, “Defendants’ counsel indicated that members of the Commission have been using personal email accounts rather than federal government systems,” which may be a violation of records laws, ProPublica reported.

Notified of the email issue, some commission members changed their email habits. Commissioner Matthew Dunlap, Maine’s secretary of state and a member of the commission, started using his state email account so that the emails can be made available to constituents under Maine state law.

But not Kobach. He told ProPublica that he is serving on the voting fraud commission as a private citizen and would continue using his personal gmail account. Kobach said using his state account would be a “waste of state resources.”

Thanks to a bill signed into law last year, Kansas officials’ private emails are open records if they pertain to public business. By using a private email address and asserting he is serving on the commission as a private citizen, Kobach is making the case that his emails involving the commission are not open records. He said as much in a response to an open records request filed by the Kansas City Star.

Lawrence attorney Max Kautsch, who specializes in open government issues, told the Kansas City Star that Kobach’s stance is “totally insane.”

Doug Anstaett, executive director of the Kansas Press Association, added, “You can’t just declare that you are a private citizen when you are a public servant serving the president of the United States. … He’s serving because of his position of secretary of state.”

Kobach’s desire to shroud in secrecy his work on the already controversial Commission on Election Integrity further erodes public confidence in the group. Kansas voters deserve more from their secretary of state, especially one who hopes to be elected governor.