One Person, No Vote (YA edition): How Not All Voters Are Treated Equally

by Carol Anderson

Once he was elected secretary of state, Kobach’s first battle cry was a menacing thrust at the voter fraud that had purportedly engulfed Kansas. As “Exhibit A,” he pointed to a case where a man named Albert Brewer, who had been dead for years, showed up and voted in the previous primary election. Kobach held up this instance as one of thousands lurking in the voter rolls, skewing elections and canceling out legitimate votes from hardworking, honest Americans. It was vintage Kobach, vintage GOP. It was also not true. Yes, there was an Albert Brewer who had died. And there was one who voted. But they were not one and the same person. The Albert Brewer who voted—Albert Brewer Jr.—was the son of the man who had died. Kobach hadn’t even bothered to check before he started slinging accusations. That kind of deliberate sloppiness would, however, be his trademark.