<figure>
 <img src="https://media.eaglewebservices.com/public/2020/7/1596032048786.png" alt="Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab says he welcomed the decision by a Shawnee County District Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Democrats in an attempt to speed implementation of a voting reform law allowing people to cast ballots from any polling station in the county. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)" />
 <figcaption>Kansas Secretary of State Scott Schwab says he welcomed the decision by a Shawnee County District Court judge to dismiss a lawsuit brought by Democrats in an attempt to speed implementation of a voting reform law allowing people to cast ballots from any polling station in the county. (Sherman Smith/Kansas Reflector)</figcaption>
 </figure>By TIM CARPENTER <a href="https://kansasreflector.com/2020/07/28/judge-dismisses-democrats-voting-lawsuit-against-sos-scott-schwab/">Kansas Reflector</a>TOPEKA — A district court 
judge tossed Tuesday a lawsuit brought by Democrats to force Secretary 
of State Scott Schwab to implement for the 2020 elections a law allowing
 voters to cast ballots from any polling station within their home 
county.Schwab hailed dismissal of
 the suit by a Shawnee County District Court judge as evidence his 
office was faithfully executing its duty to develop rules and 
regulations necessary for consistent implementation of the balloting 
reform in Kansas.In the suit, the Kansas 
Democratic Party and three national Democratic Party organizations 
contended Schwab was intentionally dragging his feet on the changes for 
partisan benefit.“The hypocrisy of 
Democrats in demanding the implementation of vote centers while also 
advocating for the elimination of polling places through all-mail ballot
 elections is evidence of their systemic ignorance of election law and 
administration,” said Schwab, a Republican. “Major changes to the 
administration of our elections should not be rushed out of political 
impulse or expediency.”Kansas Attorney General 
Derek Schmidt, also a Republican, said the decision by Shawnee County 
District Judge Thomas Luedke to dismiss a lawsuit made clear the action 
brought by Democrats was “about partisan politics, not about the law.”In dismissing the case, 
however, Luedke said implementation of the Vote Anywhere act was in the 
“complete discretion of the county election officials” whether or not 
Schwab devised rules or regulations to guide them.Vicki Hiatt, chairwoman of
 the Kansas Democratic Party, said she considered that portion of the 
judge’s ruling a victory because it articulated the right of county 
election officials to embrace the Vote Anywhere law. The primary 
election is next Tuesday and the general election is in November.“County election officials
 cannot be barred from allowing expanded voting access to all Kansans,” 
she said. “The Kansas Democratic Party believes that our democracy 
depends on participation and we have remained committed to making sure 
as many people as possible can exercise their right to vote safely in 
this historic election year.”In February, the national 
and state Democratic organizations filed suit against Schwab in his 
capacity as secretary of state and Kansas’ chief elections officer. The 
action alleged Schwab was thwarting implementation of the Vote Anywhere 
law passed by overwhelming margins in the Kansas Legislature. The 2019 
statute empowered county election officials to permit voters to cast 
ballots from any polling station in the county.Sedgwick County was among 
the first jurisdictions to push for adoption, but Schwab said he 
wouldn’t complete the rules and regulations by the August primary nor 
the November general election. The plaintiffs said that was evidence of 
the secretary of state’s “dereliction of his clear legal duties.”Democratic National 
Committee chairman Tom Perez said when the suit was filed that Schwab 
was a carbon copy of his controversial predecessor, Kris Kobach, based 
on actions designed to deter voting. Kansans “deserve better than 
Schwab’s thinly veiled strategy to suppress votes,” Perez said.In response, Schwab said 
Democrats pushing the lawsuit didn’t recognize development of the rules 
required collaboration of vendors that had to share proprietary 
information as well as the involvement of Homeland Security officials. 
He said another challenge was making certain county election offices 
could deal with technological challenges necessary to synchronize the 
poll book with voters.Schwab also said the 
stream of litigation inspired by the Democratic Party and the American 
Civil Liberties Union did little more than “weaponize our elections” and
 deplete taxpayer resources to operate elections.Tim Carpenter has reported on Kansas for 35 years. He covered the Capitol for 16 years at the Topeka Capital-Journal and previously worked for the Lawrence Journal-World and United Press International.&nbsp;

Judge dismisses Democrats’ voting lawsuit against Kan. SOS Schwab