Law requiring a birth certificate to register to vote advances to appeals court

The debate over how to sift out illegal voters from legal ones has reached the federal appeals court level, making it possible the Supreme Court eventually will rule whether a state can demand a birth certificate to register to vote.

The case before the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver centers on a 2011 Kansas law, the Documentary Proof of Citizenship (DPOC). In June, a district court judge struck down the law, with biting criticism of analysts who contend a large number of non-citizens nationwide vote illegally, tilting close elections to Democrats. Judge Julia A. Robinson said the Kansas legislation violated federal law and the 14th Amendment guarantee to equal protection.

The law, which requires proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote, is vigorously defended by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a nationally known Republican locked in a tight governor’s race. His own primary battle was so close the state attorney general cited it in a brief to the 10th Circuit as a race that could be influenced by illegal votes.

A backdrop is this: the U.S. count of non-citizens is growing. A Yale study says there may be twice as many immigrants living in the U.S. illegally — 20 million ­­— than other analyses have found. That means the population of immigrants, most of whom are over 18, has reached 30 million. The U.S. has about 245 million residents 18 and older.

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