South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson has joined a coalition of 17 states in an effort to uphold election integrity. The group submitted a friend-of-the-court brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, supporting a Kansas law that bans organizations from sending pre-filled or partially completed ballot applications to registered voters.
The Kansas legislation aims to prevent third-party groups from distributing ballot applications that are already filled out, which officials say could lead to confusion and errors among voters. A district court previously blocked this law from taking effect, prompting the appeal.
“We must protect the integrity of our elections, and allowing organized groups to pre-fill ballot applications and directly solicit them to registered voters creates real potential for election interference, which we will not stand for,” Attorney General Wilson said. “The Constitution gives the states the authority to regulate the ‘times, places, and manner’ of elections, so we’re also defending state sovereignty in this case.”
In their brief, the attorneys general argued that there were significant issues with pre-filled ballot applications during the 2020 election cycle in Kansas, including duplicate submissions, inaccurate information, and confusion among voters. They requested that the appeals court overturn the lower court’s decision and affirm states’ rights to implement measures intended to safeguard their elections.
Attorney General Wilson is joined by counterparts from Oklahoma, Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Iowa, Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Tennessee, Texas and West Virginia in this legal action.
