By CELIA LLOPIS-JEPSEN

A federal lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union questions the security of a multistate voter registration database championed by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

Last week, the ACLU week added concerns about personal privacy and data security to its list of complaints against President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission. The national organization also claims that the commission violated sunshine laws on public meetings and public documents.

Kobach is vice chairman of the commission, which has sought individual-level voter registration records from all 50 states, though some states refused to hand them over.

The ACLU lawsuit cites concerns that the data-gathering effort would become a target for hackers, and by way of example points to indications that Kansas’ multistate Crosscheck voter registration system may not be secure.

Read the updated ACLU v. Donald Trump brief

This fall at least two media outlets — the investigative nonprofit ProPublica and the tech site Gizmodo — uncovered security problems with Crosscheck, ranging from relying on an insecure server to sharing passwords via email. Sensitive information also was exposed through open records requests.

The defendants in the lawsuit have yet to file an answer to the ACLU’s complaints. Kobach’s office didn’t respond to a request Thursday for comment on the lawsuit’s references to Crosscheck.

The ACLU lawsuit, originally filed in July, is similar to a lawsuit filed the same day by the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, among other legal complaints.

Origins in Kansas

Crosscheck, formally known as the Interstate Voter Registration Crosscheck Program, began in 2005 under Ron Thornburgh, then Kansas secretary of state.

It has drawn renewed interest and scrutiny since Trump formed the voter fraud commission. Kobach sees Crosscheck as a tool for election integrity that allows participating states to compare records in search of double-registered voters. In August, for example, he touted it to the U.S. Department of Justice, calling it “one of the most important systems” Kansas uses to achieve voter roll accuracy.

But Crosscheck has come under fire from critics who say it makes for poor-quality data with negative consequences, creating significant risks that people with the same name and birthdate will be misidentified as people who are double-registered.

The critics have support from research published by a team of academics at four universities.

Read the paper by researchers at Harvard, Yale and other universities

The research team concluded that proposed voter registration purging strategies related to Crosscheck “would eliminate about 300 registrations used to cast a seemingly legitimate vote for every one registration used to cast a double vote.”

More states have concerns

Some states already participating in Crosscheck appear concerned about inadequate security in the wake of the ProPublica and Gizmodo reports.

Last month, the Idaho Statesman reported that Idaho’s top election official may end his state’s participation in Crosscheck over that issue.

The Lawrence Journal-World has reported in recent weeks that Kobach’s office also recently discussed the concerns with officials from participating states in a conference call and that his office is looking into Crosscheck’s security.

At least three states have pulled out of Crosscheck because of data quality concerns, and state participation is embattled in others.

Democrats in Illinois, for example, are renewing efforts to remove their state from Crosscheck after a proposal to do so narrowly failed at the state’s election board. And Indiana’s secretary of state is facing a lawsuit over her use of Crosscheck.

According to a June presentation by Kansas officials to the National Conference of State Legislatures, Crosscheck grew from a four-state, Midwest-focused program upon its creation to about 30 states and 100 million voter records by 2016.

By comparison, a separate multistate effort called the Electronic Registration Information Center has about 14 million records from 20 states and the District of Columbia. That system is governed by a board of directors.

Trump created his voter fraud commission in May and tasked it with ultimately submitting a report to him that in part identifies the “vulnerabilities in voting systems and practices used for Federal elections.” The commission last met in September.

Celia Llopis-Jepsen is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @Celia_LJ.

By MONIQUE SEITZ-DAVIS
SafeWise

Is your furry friend like a family member? If so, where you live may impact the quality of your pet’s life.

SafeWise analysts created a report on the most pet-friendly states in America and Kansas ranked # 8 best state for pets in 2017.

To determine the best and worst states for pets, SafeWise looked at multiple factors including which states have harsh anti-cruelty laws, number of shelters, veterinarians, and registered breeders, along with the number of pet-friendly restaurants, hotels, and parks.

Here are some other key findings:

• Kansas has 87 shelters and 30 percent are no-kill shelters
• Kansas has 370 pet-friendly hotels
• Kansas has 38 trails that allow pets to frolic freely

See the entire report here.

SafeWise is a home security and safety advice blog.

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — A minister from Kansas City, Kansas, is soaring to the top of the gospel music charts after a chance encounter at a national worship event with a national gospel performer.

Bishop Cortez Vaughn is the founder and senior pastor of Faith City Church in Kansas City, Kansas. His song “You Deserve It” spent more than 20 weeks topping gospel music charts and caught the attention of gospel icons and choirs worldwide, the Kansas City Star reported.

The song’s popularity grew after Vaughn’s performance of it last year caught the attention of JJ Hairston, a national recording gospel artist. Hairston invited Vaugh to travel to Washington, D.C., to record the song. He and his accompanying choir decided not only to add “You Deserve It” to their upcoming album but to name the album itself after the song.
“I guess he knew he had something,” said Vaugh, who is listed as a “featured” performer on the single.

“You Deserve It” was rewarded earlier this month with a Grammy Award nomination for best gospel performance/song. The song also helped Vaughn land a record deal with Tyscot Records.
“No way I could have predicted this,” said Vaughn, 39. “I’m still in awe.”
Vaughn said he first wrote “You Deserve It” in 2014 during a worship experience at a North Carolina church. Fellow music ministers David Bloom of North Carolina and Demond Reed of Texas helped Vaughn write the song.

Vaughn said he’s working on his own recorded version of “You Deserve It” that will have a different twist to it from the single with Hairston.

SEDGWICK COUNTY —The Wichita community is mourning the loss of a special member of law enforcement.

On Saturday, Wichita Police Department Mounted Unit suffered the tragic loss of one of their horses.

The horse named, Champ, had a large colon volvulus causing him to suffer from unrelenting pain. After performing diagnostic procedures, it was determined that his GI tract ruptured and humane euthanasia was necessary, according to officer Charley Davidson.

Champ served honorably as a mounted unit horse for six years. He was known for his kind and gentle disposition.
Champ was loved by the community and the mounted unit officers.

SEDGWICK COUNTY — Law enforcement are investigating a disturbance and looking for a suspect after a car was seen floating in the river.
Just before 1a.m. Sunday, police responded to a disturbance with a weapon call at Pinecrest and Gramer in Wichita, according to office Charley Davidson.

Upon officers arriving to investigate the call a silver sedan was seen leaving. Officers attempted to stop the vehicle when the driver refused to stop and a short police pursuit ensued.  Police discontinued the pursuit due to the reckless actions of the driver.

Shortly after the pursuit ended an officer observed the silver sedan in the Arkansas River in the 1700 block of south Greenway.

The vehicle was unoccupied, and any individual(s) in the vehicle were not located.  If anyone has any information regarding this case please call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 316.267.2111.  The case numbers of the incident are 17C087765; 17C087768.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — The U.S. Attorney based in Kansas City says he will hire a new assistant U.S. attorney to help combat violent crime in the Kansas City area.

The office announced Friday that the new position is part of a federal program to hire 40 assistant U.S. attorneys in 27 districts to reduce violent crime.

The Western District of Missouri has been designated as a Public Safety Partnership Diagnostic Site to work with local law enforcement on public safety and violence reduction. Eight districts nationwide received the designation.

The partnership allows cities to consult with and receive training, technical assistance and resources from the Justice Department to improve local violence reduction efforts.

BY MADELINE FOX

Osawatomie State Hospital is again eligible for millions of dollars in federal Medicare payments after the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services recertified its acute care center.

The state psychiatric hospital lost its certification in December 2015 after the reported rape of an employee exposed security concerns and staffing shortages. A subsequent inspection in May 2017 revealed problems with sanitation, infection control and fire safety.

The Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services, which oversees the state’s psychiatric hospitals, has been working to decrease staff vacancy levels at Osawatomie and Larned state hospitals in recent years. Osawatomie now has a 16.7 percent staff vacancy rate, down from as high as 32 percent.

“This is a big leap for us from where we started, and it’s really good news for all the hard work folks at Osawatomie did,” KDADS secretary Tim Keck said Tuesday.

Recertification of the Adair Acute Care Center, a 60-bed section of the hospital that serves patients who need a more intensive level of care, allows Osawatomie to bill for care provided to patients covered by Medicare. Those federal payments had averaged about $1 million per month.

“I’m incredibly pleased that the work to restore Osawatomie Hospital’s participation in the Medicare program has paid off so clearly,” Gov. Sam Brownback said in a Tuesday news release about the hospital’s recertification. “The determination and effort the staff put toward successful recertification shows the commitment level the State of Kansas has to vulnerable people who need help.”

Keck said KDADS still has more work to do on Osawatomie, including a push during the upcoming legislative session to privatize operations and build new facilities.

Madeline Fox is a reporter for the Kansas News Service. You can reach her on Twitter @maddycfox.

GARDEN CITY, Kan. (AP) — A Kansas appeals court has overturned the child-endangerment conviction of a man found guilty of locking his two toddlers in a room for 14 hours with their clothing and bedding soaked in their bodily waste.

The Kansas Court of Appeals on Friday ordered a new trial for Samuel Mich White of Garden City, citing an improper instruction to the jury from the judge.

The case began when a Garden City police officer and a probation officer conducted a surprise inspection at White’s home. Police say the children, ages 2 and 3, were inside a room chain-locked from the outside.

A jury acquitted White of child abuse, but found him guilty of two counts of child endangerment.

In 2013 White was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child, according to the Kansas Department of Corrections.

SHAWNEE, Kan. (AP) — Two people are OK after escaping an early-morning fire in a Kansas suburb of Kansas City, thanks to the fast actions of a person passing by.

The fire broke out early Saturday at a home in Shawnee. Fire officials say a person passing by saw the fire and alerted the residents.

Fire crews rescued a cat but were unable to save the family dog.

Fire officials believe a wood burning stove in the garage caused the fire.