Steve Vockrodt: "KRIS KOBACH DIDN'T ALWAYS FIGHT SO HARD TO KEEP DEMOCRATS ON THE BALLOT" @ The K. C. Pitch

Former Lake Quivera Mayor Larry Meeker

[Excerpt] ... Meeker assumed that everything was taken care of and planned to run as a Democrat against Republican Brett Hildabrand. Hildabrand the term before served the 23rd District out of Merriam, but moved to Shawnee after district boundaries got redrawn.

When Meeker's name never showed up on the secretary of state's list of eligible candidates, he and other local Democrats decided to look into what happened.

Democrats as the time said Kobach's office lost Meeker's documents; a party official signed a sworn statement indicating that he had handed the filing documents over to a deputy in the secretary of state's office. That year's filing deadline was a particularly messy affair after the courts had to complete a redistricting project that the Kansas Legislature couldn't manage.

Kobach's office responded that Meeker's papers never arrived. Meeker appealed the decision to a three-person panel: Kobach, Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt and Lt. Gov. Jeff Colyer — all Republicans. Meeker, of course, lost his appeal.

He instead ran as an independent for the 17th District against Hildabrand. No Democrat appeared on that ballot. ... [End of Excerpt]

Read more at The Pitch.