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Kansas plan would give elections chief prosecutorial power

Senator Jeff King
Senator Jeff King

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A key Republican legislator says he’s not sure how Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach’s efforts to obtain the authority to prosecute election fraud cases will fare when the state Senate debates the measure.

The Senate was taking up the bill Tuesday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jeff King, a Republican from Independence, said senators have supported the concept in the past but are likely to have questions about the details.

Kobach has argued that his office needs to the power to pursue election fraud cases because county prosecutors have too many other cases that are a higher priority for them.

But Kobach’s critics contend that there’s no need for such a change.

Senate Minority Leader Anthony Hensley said while Kobach is an attorney, future secretaries of state might not be.

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