Inspector general flags voter-registration mailings and SNAP/Medicaid data mismatches to committee
Loading...
Summary
In an issue brief presented Jan. 27, the inspector general said KDHE's form changes and data mismatches between SNAP and Medicaid led to excessive voter-registration mailings and that SNAP/EBT transactions show fraud patterns warranting further investigation.
Steve Anderson, inspector general in the attorney general's office, told the Committee on Welfare Reform that an issue brief on voter registration and an ongoing data-share audit revealed process errors and potential misuse that merit follow-up.
Anderson said KDHE removed a federally required question from its form and, for a period, treated blank responses as an affirmative request to receive a voter-registration packet. "We swung the other direction where we said, you know what? We're gonna take that question off of our form, and we're gonna start treating blanks...as a yes," Anderson said, and he told the committee that practice generated large volumes of unsolicited mailings and cost the state in excess of $100,000 for postage alone.
Why it matters: Anderson said the National Voter Registration Act requires a clear affirmative request for a packet to be sent. He said KDHE's internal guidance treated blanks as a yes, and that only 1.16% of mailed packets between Jan. 2022 and June 2025 were the result of a person explicitly checking "yes." Anderson recommended correcting the form and the underlying MOU language to reduce waste and confusion.
Anderson also described a data-share audit comparing DCF and KDHE eligibility records that has already revealed discrepancies: he gave an example of a person who was recorded as having employment to receive childcare assistance yet listed as having zero income on Medicaid. He said such mismatches could indicate errors or fraud and that the audit will explore whether data sharing can be used to reduce error rates and detect misuse.
On SNAP/EBT fraud, Anderson told lawmakers he sees evidence of EBT benefits being sold and used at retailers for cash ("50¢ on the dollar") and argued that moving investigators under the IG's office would allow stronger criminal investigations because the IG has special agents. Representative Simmons asked whether the mailing practice was consistent with federal law; Anderson reiterated federal guidance that blanks should be treated as no and that KDHE's change to treat blanks as yes caused the surge of mailings.
What's next: Anderson said the issue brief was an overview and that his office will follow up to quantify how many packets were returned and how many resulted in registrations. He also suggested the committee consider whether corrective-action tracking and form revisions are warranted. The committee took no formal action at the hearing.
