TOPEKA — The Kansas Legislature’s bipartisan auditing committee voted to issue a subpoena to compel the Ford County clerk to cooperate with the state’s security examination of voting-related documentation and equipment used in the 2022 general election.

House and Senate members participating in the committee meeting Monday took the extraordinary step of immediately relaunching the election security audit investigation that had been stalled long ago by Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox.

The committee directed Cox to comply with audit team information requests helpful in evaluating accuracy of voting machines relied on during the statewide election two years ago. In addition, Cox must provide auditors access by Aug. 14 to storage units, ballots and devices used to count votes in that election.

Rep. Shannon Francis, a Republican from Liberal in southwest Kansas, offered the motion to affirm the post-auditing staff’s authority to investigate Ford County’s election processes. He proposed a separate motion triggering Article 10, Chapter 46 of Kansas statute that outlined how investigating committees could use power of a subpoena to compel individuals to cooperate with audits. Both motions were approved without debate.

“If any person fails to make any books, accounts, contracts or records, files, documents and correspondence, confidential or otherwise, related to such audit available to the post auditor or any officer or employee of the division of post audit upon request … the post auditor shall report such failure immediately in writing to the legislative post audit committee, the governor and the attorney general,” Francis said.

Cox wasn’t at the audit committee’s brief meeting at the Capitol. She was given until 1 p.m. Aug. 14 to transfer requested materials to auditors.

When the Division of Post Audit initiated a 15-county review of election security standards, they discovered Ford and Chase county officials sealed most election documents in the same containers with original paper ballots. The practice of locking away ballot activity documents or equipment transfer records in containers with ballots didn’t comply with the Kansas Open Records Act mandating retention and inspection of certain election-related records.

In addition, Ford County refused to let the Legislature’s auditors inspect the county’s election management computer. That meant auditors couldn’t determine whether the election computer was properly disconnected from the internet or had non-election software installed on it.

Kristen Rottinghaus, deputy of the auditing division, said the legislative committee’s objective was to answer two basic questions about election security in Ford County. They are the same questions directed at the 13 counties featured in the audit report released in mid-2023.

The examination in Ford County would address accuracy and security of voting machines used in the November 2022 election, she said.

“And,” Rottinghaus said, “their policies and procedures for ensuring the security of storage units, ballots and devices used to tabulate votes during that same election.”

In July 2023, the auditing division reported to the Legislature that the 13 cooperating county governments had adequate overall election security practices but none met all 55 best practices or state laws during the 2022 primary or general elections. Auditors concluded most of the 13 counties examined in that audit provided inadequate levels of security for ballots and tabulation machines.

“They’re also missing or have weak practices in several important areas,” the audit report said. “That means security isn’t as good as it could or should be.”

The auditors recommended Secretary of State Scott Schwab provide counties with standardized election forms and policies. In addition, auditors proposed Schwab train county election officers on what election materials could be sealed in ballot containers and kept from public view.

“Secretary of state’s office officials told us county officials often indiscriminately seal election documents with ballots,” the audit said. “But this doesn’t align with the purpose of ballot sealing, which is to maintain an accurate paper record of the election results.”

Auditing of county election security practices in Kansas was driven by Republican state legislators convinced by former President Donald Trump’s false claim President Joe Biden stole the 2020 presidential election in a multi-state conspiracy.

Trump, who carried Kansas in the 2016 and 2020 elections, has continued to perpetuate that myth on the 2024 campaign trail.

In 2018, the American Civil Liberties Union of Kansas filed a lawsuit against Cox challenging her decision to move the city’s voting location serving a population of 27,000 people to a facility outside city limits. The suit claimed the change interferred with a fundamental right to vote and disproportionately would impact Hispanic voters.

Cox also forwarded to then-Secretary of State Kris Kobach a letter from ACLU Kansas requesting a voter help line, but wrote on top of the document, “LOL,” meaning to laugh out loud.