Republicans across the country have been advocating for legislation requiring voters to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, citing concerns about illegal voting by noncitizens. However, in Kansas, where a similar law was implemented over a decade ago, the results were far from successful.
The proof-of-citizenship requirement, passed in 2011 and enforced in 2013, led to the blocking of more than 31,000 eligible U.S. citizens from registering to vote. This amounted to 12% of all new voter registration applications in the state. Federal courts later deemed the law unconstitutional, highlighting the risk of disenfranchising eligible voters in pursuit of addressing a rare issue.
