Kris Kobach joins Montana lawsuit in Kansas vs. Joe Biden order on voter access

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach has made Kansas part of a federal lawsuit led by Montana but filed in Kansas against President Joe Biden over an executive order on voter registration.

Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen filed the lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Wichita. At issue is Biden's 2021 Executive Order 14019 .

"The head of each agency shall evaluate ways in which the agency can, as appropriate and consistent with applicable law, promote voter registration and voter participation," Biden's order states.

Attorneys general from Montana, Kansas, Iowa, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina and South Dakota allege that the order is unconstitutional.

"Fair elections are an essential part of our country's Republic," Knudsen said in a statement . "Congress gave the states the power to oversee elections years ago. I will not stand by while the Biden-Harris administration attempts to shamelessly garner votes by employing its own agencies to register voters and disregard states own voter registration systems, putting the integrity of our elections at risk."

The states are suing Biden as well as multiple federal government agencies and their department heads.

"It is the policy of my Administration to promote and defend the right to vote for all Americans who are legally entitled to participate in elections," Biden said in his order. "It is the responsibility of the Federal Government to expand access to, and education about, voter registration and election information, and to combat misinformation, in order to enable all eligible Americans to participate in our democracy."

Jason Alatidd is a Statehouse reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. He can be reached by email at jalatidd@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Jason_Alatidd .

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kris Kobach joins Montana lawsuit in Kansas vs. Joe Biden order on voter access