By SCOTT ROTHSCHILD, The Lawrence Journal-World
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office has filed a motion to dismiss a lawsuit challenging President Barack Obama's listing on the state's Nov. 6 general election ballot.
The motion states that ballots with Obama's name are already being sent and voted on by those who are in the military and overseas and who requested absentee ballots.
A court order to remove Obama's name from the ballot "would create equal protection issues or necessitate corrected ballots to be sent to (overseas) voters who have already cast ballots," the motion filed by Deputy Secretary of State Ryan Kriegshauser said.
The lawsuit was filed last week by California attorney Orly Taitz, who alleges that Obama is not a U.S. citizen and is ineligible to be president.
Obama has released his birth certificate and his birth-state of Hawaii has authenticated the online copy of the birth certificate.
Taitz filed the lawsuit against the State Objections Board and Kobach, its chairman, after the board closed a review of whether Obama should be listed on the ballot.
A Manhattan resident, Joe Montgomery, had filed the initial challenge before the State Objections Board, but then withdrew it, saying he had been the target of "a great deal of animosity and intimidation."
But Taitz told Kobach that Montgomery asked her to reinstate his complaint.
Kriegshauser, however, said there is no evidence of that.
The motion also states that Taitz has no standing in the case, saying, "she will not be affected in an individual sense by whether or not President Obama is on the general election ballot in Kansas."
A hearing on Taitz's lawsuit has been scheduled for Wednesday.
