Amid the chaos in the Kansas Senate race, two of the key players are now giving very different accounts of what happened on the day that the Democratic nominee attempted to withdraw from the campaign.
Democratic nominee Chad Taylor is suing Secretary of State Kris Kobach for refusing to take his name off the November ballot after Taylor submitted paperwork stating he would drop out of the race. In an affidavit filed with the lawsuit, Taylor said that he had consulted with one of Kobach’s subordinates, Brad Bryant, when he filed the paperwork on Sept. 3. He said he showed Bryant the letter he had written to withdraw and asked if it contained all the information necessary to remove Taylor’s name from the ballot. Bryant responded, “Yes,” according to Taylor.
Now Kobach’s office has released an affidavit from Bryant that offers his version of what happened.
Most importantly, Bryant said that he “did not recall” Taylor asking him if the letter would be sufficient to withdraw his name from the ballot at the specific moment that Taylor described above, which Taylor had said happened before he signed the letter in front of a notary.
I am aware of the allegations made by Mr. Taylor … that Mr. Taylor asked me, prior to having the letter notarized, if the letter “contained all the necessary information.” While I recall Mr. Taylor asking me a question of that nature later in our encounter, as described below, I do not recall him specifically asking me this question at this time and, in any event, I did not affirm to Mr. Taylor, at this or any other point during this encounter or otherwise, that his letter contained all of the necessary information to effectuate his withdrawal from the election.
Bryant said that Taylor did ask him later if the letter would suffice. Taylor said that Bryant responded “Yes” again, but Bryant disputed this in his affidavit. He said he “gestured that the answer was uncertain.” At another point, Bryant said he “shrugg(ed) my shoulders as to indicate ‘we’ll see'” when Taylor asked if his name would be removed from the ballot.
Bryant said he believed Taylor was “facing extreme pressure from fellow Democrats at the national level.”
I am convinced based on my relationship and familiarity with Mr. Taylor that, at all times on September 3, 2014, Mr. Taylor was fully aware of the language and requirements of the statute, and that he at no time understood me to be affirming to him that a letter without the declaration described in K.S.A. 25-306b(b) would be sufficient to prevent his name from appearing on the ballot for the November 4 general election.
The dispute over what happened on Sept. 3 could be a moot issue, as election law expert Rick Hasen noted Thursday. The Kansas Supreme Court, which is hearing the lawsuit, indicated that the only evidence necessary to decide the case was contained in Taylor’s letter and Kobach’s responding letter that said Taylor would stay on the ballot.
But it is another bizarre element in one of the wildest election stories of 2014.
