{"id":33488,"date":"2017-07-01T06:39:03","date_gmt":"2017-07-01T06:39:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=33488"},"modified":"2017-07-01T06:39:05","modified_gmt":"2017-07-01T06:39:05","slug":"24-states-refusing-to-provide-voter-data-to-trump-election-panel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/news\/24-states-refusing-to-provide-voter-data-to-trump-election-panel.html","title":{"rendered":"24 states refusing to provide voter data to Trump election panel"},"content":{"rendered":"

24 states refusing to provide voter data to Trump election panel<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

At least 24 states are pushing back or outright refusing to comply with the Trump administration\u2019s request for voter registration data.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

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 The Hill.<\/span><\/p>\n

Many states immediately raised concerns and voiced their opposition to providing the information. <\/span>
\nKentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) said that she does not intend to release the data.<\/span><\/p>\n

“The president created his election commission based on the false notion that \u2018voter fraud\u2019 is a widespread issue \u2014 it is not,\u201d Lundergan Grimes said. \u201cI do not intend to release Kentuckians’ sensitive personal data to the federal government.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf, a Democrat, took a similar line.<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump has alleged that millions of illegal votes cost him the popular vote in November\u2019s 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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chief election officials from both sides of the aisle expressed skepticism about Trump\u2019s claim of voter fraud.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIn Ohio, we pride ourselves on being a state where it is easy to vote and hard to cheat,\u201d said Jon Husted, Ohio\u2019s Republican secretary of state. \u201cVoter 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.”<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCalifornia\u2019s participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud,\u201d Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement about the letter.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, both Democrats, said their states would not provide confidential information.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cNew York refuses to perpetuate the myth voter fraud played a role in our election,\u201d Cuomo said in a statement. \u201cWe will not be complying with this request.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019t release certain information requested by Kobach.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIndiana law doesn\u2019t permit the Secretary of State to provide the personal information requested by Secretary Kobach,\u201d Lawson said. \u201cUnder 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.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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\u2019s director of elections, John Arnold, told The Hill that state law would not allow the presidential commission access to voter information.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWisconsin statutes do not permit the state to release a voter\u2019s date of birth, driver license number or Social Security number,\u201d Michael Haas, the administrator of the Wisconsin Elections Commission, said in a release.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials in Connecticut, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Utah also expressed skepticism and said their states would withhold nonpublic information.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt is deeply troubling that he has been given oversight of this commission by the president,\u201d Gorbea said.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/span><\/p>\n

Officials have raised questions about the commission\u2019s discretion obtaining the confidential documents.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cState statutes permit the [Wisconsin commission] to share confidential information in limited circumstances with law enforcement agencies or agencies of other states,\u201d Haas said. \u201cThe Presidential Commission does not appear to qualify under either of these categories.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Trump appointed another voter identification supporter, Heritage Foundation fellow Hans von Spakovsky, to the commission Thursday. Von Spakovsky, one of Kobach\u2019s mentors, has long advocated for stricter voter access rules.<\/span><\/p>\n

The 21 states are Arizona, California, Connecticut, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Mississippi, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia and Wisconsin.<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-\u00a0http:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/state-watch\/340289-19-states-refusing-to-provide-voter-data-to-trump-panel<\/span><\/p>\n

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