The Kansas Supreme Court has decided to hear the lawsuit Democratic Senate nominee Chad Taylor has brought against Secretary of State Kris Kobach, after Kobach argued that the case should be transferred to a lower court.
Taylor is suing Kobach over his ruling that Taylor must remain on the Senate ballot in November, despite Taylor’s announcement that he would withdraw from the race. Kobach argued in a court filing that the case should be moved to a lower district court.
The Supreme Court disagreed and said Thursday that it will hear the case. Oral arguments will start on Sept. 16. Kobach has said that the case should be resolved by Sept. 19 so that absentee and military ballots can be printed on time.
Election law expert Rick Hasen of the University of California-Irvine noted that the Court seemed to be dismissing a part of Taylor’s case: That he had spoken with a top Kobach deputy before filing his paperwork to withdraw. The Court said that all the evidence needed to make a decision was contained in Taylor’s letter to withdraw and Kobach’s ruling that he must stay on that ballot.
What to take away from the Court’s position, though, is difficult to say. “It is hard to know what to make of this,” Hasen wrote. “Whatever the court decides, this is a very interesting development.
