Civic Register
| 9.1.17

Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission Lacks Transparency

Join us and tell your reps how you feel!

What’s the story?

A judge called out President Trump’s Election Integrity Commission on Wednesday for violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) by not fully disclosing public documents prior to their first meeting on July 19.

Why does it matter?

The judge issued the statements during a hearing for a case brought against the Commission by the Lawyers' Committee For Civil Rights Under Law, one of a handful of cases brought against the Commission following their request for submission of sensitive voter information from all 50 states.

Prior to the Commission’s first meeting on July 19, according to the Washington Post, the only materials publicly made available were an agenda and proposed by-laws. But, once the commissioners gathered, each was provided with a binder "including a specially prepared report and a 381-page “database" purporting to show 1,100 cases of voter fraud, both from the think tank Heritage Foundation.” Also included in the materials were a list of proposed discussion topics and an article from Yale Law & Policy Review.

Lawyers for the panel argued that Commission staff simply "misunderstood" and were unclear that materials not yet seen or discussed by the Commission as a whole needed to be made publicly available in advance. The judge asserted the argument was “hard to believe” and that such “after-the-fact” arguments were “incredible.”

The Commission has raised alarm bells and resistance from its inception, since it was created in response to a fallacious claim by the president that 3-5 million undocumented immigrants voted in the 2016 presidential election. Commission Co-Chair Kris Kobach has also been taken to court and fined for ‘misleading the Court’ during voter fraud ID cases in his home state of Kansas. Kobach still serves as the Secretary of State for Kansas.

The Commission’s next meeting is September 12 in New Hampshire. The judge told the Commission’s lawyers they need to disclose documents to the public the day before the September meeting or provide a credible argument as to what "won’t be covered" by the government’s pledges of transparency.

What do you think?

Is the Election Integrity Commission necessary? Are you concerned about massive voter fraud? Do you fear the Commission is a step towards voter suppression, as some have maintained? Do you think the public should be able to read and analyze any materials that the Commission discusses, as long as they do not contain private voter information?

Tell us what you think in the comments and then use the Take Action button to tell your reps!

— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Wikimedia / Creative Commons)

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