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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A former employee's lawsuit alleging that she was fired from Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach's office for not going to church enough is set to go to trial next week.
Courtney Canfield worked for Kobach's office for more than nine months in 2013. She learned of her firing from her grandmother, a longtime Republican Party volunteer who knew Kobach's chief deputy. Kobach has said the allegation of religious discrimination is "ridiculous.
The lawsuit blames Kobach's chief deputy, Eric Rucker, for the firing. While Canfield is suing the office, Kobach isn't a defendant himself.
But the case is sure to draw attention to Kobach, a Republican with a national reputation for championing tough voter identification laws and helping to draft proposals in numerous states aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration.
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