On May 17, U.S. District Court Judge Julia Robinson, a Bush Jr. appointee, enjoined the Kansas law that says people who register to vote at the Department of Motor Vehicles must provide documents proving they are citizens. The judge interpreted the 1993 federal “Motor Voter” Law to forbid states from requiring such documentation. She stayed her own opinion to give the state time to appeal to the Tenth Circuit. The case is Fish v Kobach, 16-2105. Here is the decision.

The ruling has no effect on voters who hope to register to vote in state and local elections. It only helps applicants to be registered to vote in federal elections. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.

Patrick Caddell has this opinion piece in The Hill, severely criticizing the Commission on Presidential Debates. The article would be better if it mentioned the two lawsuits now pending against the 15% polling policy.

On May 17, Connecticut’s Secretary of State announced that the state will automatically register every adult citizen known to exist. Oddly, the new policy was never authorized by any bill in the legislature. See this story. Persons who say they don’t want to be registered to vote will be allowed to decline registration. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.