County pays $71,481 in voting-site suit

DODGE CITY, Kan. — A county in western Kansas has paid more than $70,000 so far to a legal firm hired to defend an official who moved Dodge City’s only polling place to a site outside the city ahead of the November election.

Ford County paid the Hinkle Law Firm $71,481 in October and November to defend County Clerk Debbie Cox, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported, based on a document it obtained through an open-records request.

The American Civil Liberties Union sued Cox in late October after she moved Dodge City’s polling place, citing planned construction at the original site.

The ACLU said the location, the Western State Bank Expo Center, was a mile from the nearest bus stop and was inconvenient for residents of the city, which has a population of 27,000 and is 60 percent Hispanic.

Days before the midterm election, a federal judge rejected the ACLU’s effort to reopen the original site, but the lawsuit is continuing as the ACLU seeks to ensure Cox opens a second voting location in 2020.

Cox hired attorney Bradley Schlozman, who is wellknown in the legal community for defending states and cities accused of trying to restrict voting. She said money for his Wichita-based firm comes from the county’s general fund.

“Ford County Clerk Debbie Cox is using her constituents’ tax dollars to pay her lawyer rather than expand their access to voting,” ACLU interim Executive Director Lauren Bonds said.