Kansas Democrats say Kobach’s office lost candidate’s paperwork to run for office

TOPEKA — Democrats said Thursday that Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office lost the paperwork of a Democratic candidate and is denying him from running for office.

Larry Meeker, of Lake Quivira, and House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, speak Thursday at a news conference in the Statehouse. Meeker and Davis say Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office lost Meeker's paperwork to be a candidate in the State House District 17 race. Kobach's office says it never received the documents.

"The fact of the matter is, they made a mistake," House Minority Leader Paul Davis, D-Lawrence, said. "What bothers me is that they have not owned up to that mistake," Davis said.

Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office has determined the candidacy of Larry Meeker invalid. Kobach's office says Meeker's documents were never received.

Meeker, a former mayor of Lake Quivira, said he filed the necessary paperwork and officials paid the $105 filing fee to run for State House District 17, which is in Johnson County.

But Meeker and Democratic officials say that somehow in the crush of candidates filing on Monday, the Secretary of State's office lost the documents.

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