Democratic Representative John Carmichael, of Wichita, is seeking to return responsibility for prosecuting election crimes to local prosecutors rather than the Kansas Secretary of State’s office. The Legislature approved a statute in 2015 giving prosecutorial powers to the Secretary of State’s office. Representative Carmichael says only about ten cases have been prosecuted.

Read the full story at http://kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/bill-seeks-return-election-crime-prosecution-local-authorities

Reversing course from two years ago, Rep. John Carmichael is proposing to repeal a law that stripped cities and counties of authority to regulate the placement of political signs.

Carmichael, D-Wichita, voted in favor of the law as part of House Bill 2183: http://kslegislature.org/li_2016/b2015_16/measures/hb2183/, a catch-all political campaign bill that passed late in the 2015 legislative session.

On Friday, he said he didn’t expect it to result in the “forests of signs along the major thoroughfares of Wichita” that sprouted during the 2016 elections.

Read the full story at http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article128120734.html

State Rep. John Carmichael, a Democrat from Wichita, is sponsoring a bill to repeal the secretary of state’s prosecutorial power, noting Kobach has filed just nine prosecutions against people for double voting in the past year and a half. Six voters were convicted and fined between $500 and $5,500. None involved noncitizens voting illegally.

Carmichael says Kobach is using his prosecutorial power for “political purposes,” saying Kobach has made a name for himself by contending noncitizens are stealing elections.

Read the full story at http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2017/jan/21/voting-rights-advocates-seek-rein-kansas-election-/

State Rep. John Carmichael, a Democrat from Wichita, is sponsoring a bill to repeal the secretary of state’s prosecutorial power, noting Kobach has filed just nine prosecutions against people for double voting in the past year and a half. Six voters were convicted and fined between $500 and $5,500. None involved noncitizens voting illegally.

Carmichael says Kobach is using his prosecutorial power for “political purposes,” saying Kobach has made a name for himself by contending noncitizens are stealing elections.

Read the full story at http://cjonline.com/news/local/2017-01-21/voting-rights-advocates-seek-rein-kansas-election-laws

Rep. John Carmichael, a Wichita Democrat, reacted sarcastically Friday to the new filing against the voter:

“The scoundrel.” Carmichael said with a laugh. “Oh my!”

Carmichael, who has filed a bill that would strip Kobach of his prosecutorial powers, said he knows of no other professional prosecutor in Kansas who uses so many resources to go after just a handful of misdemeanor cases.

“I seriously question whether the Secretary of State is being a good steward of the taxpayer’s money,” Carmichael said.

Read the full story at http://kcur.org/post/kobach-files-ninth-case-alleged-voter-fraud

Democratic Representative John Carmichael doesn’t expect the idea to get much traction with lawmakers. He says people who register at the DMV are legally registered and should be allowed to vote in all races.

“It represents one more attempt to suppress votes in Kansas by our chief election officer. His job is to encourage voting and participation, not to disenfranchise lawfully registered Kansas voters,” says Carmichael.

Read the full story at http://kansaspublicradio.org/kpr-news/kobach-seeks-authority-create-two-tiered-kansas-voting-system

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, has filed a bill to take away Kobach’s prosecutorial authority. He called nine cases for a single prosecutor a waste of prosecutorial resources.

Carmichael said the potential deterrent effect of prosecuting fraud depends on how many cases actually exist.

“I guess he’s identified roughly 20 cases of double voting and he has yet to file a case of voter impersonation fraud,” Carmichael said. “The voter ID requirement is burdensome to every Kansan, yet he has yet to show us a single case.”

Read the full story at http://cjonline.com/news/local/2017-01-18/topeka-lawmaker-asks-kobach-investigate-voters-he-believes-registered-under

“He’s one of the smartest guys in this Legislature,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a liberal Wichita Democrat. “He’s a fair man.”

Read the full story at http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2017/jan/16/new-kansas-house-speaker-getting-good-marks-loose-/

 “He’s one of the smartest guys in this Legislature,” said Rep. John Carmichael, a liberal Wichita Democrat. “He’s a fair man.”

Read the full story at http://cjonline.com/news/local/2017-01-16/new-kansas-house-speaker-getting-good-marks-loose-style

The bill passed after about 20 minutes of debate and only one amendment to the version that passed out of the Elections Committee.

Rep. John Carmichael, D-Wichita, offered that amendment to clarify that independent candidates would have to wait for the governor to set the election before they begin collecting their signatures.

Carmichael said he only wanted to clarify the bill, not delay it.

“This is must-pass legislation in my view,” he said.

Read the full story at http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article126143674.html