More than half the states refusing to provide voter data to Trump election panel
BY WILL COSTELLO AND SUMNER PARK - 06/30/17 03:51 PM EDT
At least 29 states are pushing back or outright refusing to comply
with the Trump administration’s request for voter registration data.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, formed by
President Trump to investigate his widely debunked claim that millions
of illegal
votes cost him the popular vote in the 2016 presidential election,
sent letters this week to the 50 secretaries of state across the
country requesting
information about voters.
The letter, signed by commission vice chairman and Kansas Secretary of
State Kris Kobach (R), asked for names, addresses, birth dates and
party affiliations
of registered voters in each state. It also sought felony convictions,
military statuses, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and
voting records
dating back to 2006, according to a copy of the letter obtained by his
election commission based on the false notion that ‘voter fraud’ is a
widespread issue — it is not,” Lundergan Grimes said. “I
do not intend to release Kentuckians' sensitive personal data to the
federal government.”
Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann, a Republican, similarly
said
he won't turn over any information to the panel, telling members of
the voter fraud commission to, "go jump in the Gulf of Mexico."
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, took a list. We will not
participate in this systematic effort to suppress the vote.
1:20 PM - Donald Trump claimed that 30millions of illegal votes cost
him the popular vote in November’s election, an assertion for which he
has offered no evidence. Repeated
academic and state studies of voter files show that only a handful of
improper votes were cast in recent elections.
Chief election officials from both sides of the aisle expressed
skepticism about Trump’s claim of voter fraud.
“In Ohio, we pride ourselves on being a state where it is easy to vote
and hard to cheat,” said Jon Husted, Ohio’s Republican secretary of
state. “Voter
fraud happens, it's rare and when it happens we hold people
accountable. I believe that as the Commission does its work, it will
find the same about our
state."
“California’s participation would only serve to legitimize the false
and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud,” Democratic
Secretary of State
Alex Padilla said in a statement about the letter.
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, both
Democrats, said their states would not provide confidential
information.
“New York refuses to perpetuate the myth voter fraud played a role in
our election,” Cuomo said in a statement. “We will not be complying
with this request.”
Even a member of the Kobach commission said her state would not
comply. Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson (R), the president of
the National Association
of Secretaries of State, announced in a statement that her state
wouldn’t release certain information requested by Kobach.
“Indiana law doesn’t permit the Secretary of State to provide the
personal information requested by Secretary Kobach,” Lawson said.
“Under Indiana public
records laws, certain voter info is available to the public, the media
and any other person who requested the information for non-commercial
purposes.
The information publicly available is name, address and congressional
district assignment.”
Officials in Wisconsin, Colorado and Texas said their states would
release public information, but certain data, including full dates of
birth and Social
Security numbers, were confidential and would not be released. North
Dakota’s director of elections, John Arnold, told The Hill that state
law would not
allow the presidential commission access to voter information.
“Wisconsin statutes do not permit the state to release a voter’s date
of birth, driver license number or Social Security number,” Michael
Haas, the administrator
of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said in a release.
Oregon's secretary of state said the state typically charges for voter
information such as names, addresses and voting history and the
commission was welcome
to pay.
Even Kansas, where Kobach is secretary of state, will not share
voters' Social Security information with the commission.
“In Kansas, the Social Security number is not publicly available,"
Kobach told the Kansas City Star. "Every state receives the same
letter, but we’re not
asking for it if it’s not publicly available."
Officials in Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island, Utah and Washington
also expressed skepticism and said their states would withhold
nonpublic information.
North Carolina will provide all but the last four digits of Social
Security numbers, dates of birth and driver's license numbers.
Rhode Island Secretary of State Nellie Gorbea (D) took her criticism
further, saying Kobach was unfit to lead the commission, given his
record of strict
voting laws and a recent court fine for failing to produce documents
related to a lawsuit over voting laws.
“It is deeply troubling that he has been given oversight of this
commission by the president,” Gorbea said.
Kobach is an advocate of strict voter identification laws, which he
says are necessary to combat fraud. Opponents say those laws hinder
access to the polls
primarily for elderly and minority voters.
Officials have raised questions about the commission’s discretion
obtaining the confidential documents.
“State statutes permit the [Wisconsin commission] to share
confidential information in limited circumstances with law enforcement
agencies or agencies
of other states,” Haas said. “The presidential commission does not
appear to qualify under either of these categories.”
Trump appointed another voter identification supporter, Heritage
Foundation fellow Hans von Spakovsky, to the commission Thursday. Von
Spakovsky, one of
Kobach’s mentors, has long advocated for stricter voter access rules.
The states are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa,
Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, New
Mexico, Nevada, New
York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon,
Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah,
Vermont, Virginia, Washington
and Wisconsin.
- This story was updated July 1 at 10:45 a.m.
