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The Progressive

NewsWire

A project of Common Dreams

For Immediate Release
Contact: Email:,press@lawyerscommittee.org

Trump's Voter Fraud Commission Forced to Produce Agenda Ahead of Meeting Next Week; Commissioners Using Private Email to Conduct Official Business

In response to litigation brought by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity on Wednesday released its

WASHINGTON

In response to litigation brought by the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity on Wednesday released its agenda for next week's public meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire. The Commission was created by President Trump to support baseless claims of voter fraud, and the lineup of panelists for next week's meeting reveals a stacked agenda that lacks racial, gender, or ideological diversity. In fact, every one of the ten panelists called to speak is a white male and many are among the nation's most vocal voter suppression advocates.

"By stacking the deck with an all-white and male cast of panelists, the Commission has created an echo chamber to support Kris Kobach's baseless claims of voter fraud," Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, said. "The American people deserve to know the full story behind this Commission, not just what Kris Kobach's allies will present next week in New Hampshire. That is why we requested a full account of the electronic communications among commissioners and staff, including communications shared over private email. We will continue to use the courts as a place to resist this Administration's shameful and unlawful attempts to promote voter suppression on a national scale."

The Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has undertaken a series of comprehensive actions to challenge the Commission. This includes filing litigation in the D.C. District Court demanding the Commission operate in a transparent manner pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA); launching a hotline for the public to report instances of voter suppression (866-OUR-VOTE); sending letters to Secretaries of State demanding they not comply with Mr. Kobach's request for voter roll data; filing a Hatch Act complaint against Mr. Kobach regarding his repeated exploitation of his Commission role to solicit campaign contributions and promote his candidacy for Governor of Kansas; and urging Secretaries of State to adopt a bipartisan resolution condemning the so-called Election Integrity Commission.

The Lawyers' Committee is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to enlist the private bar's leadership and resources in combating racial discrimination and the resulting inequality of opportunity - work that continues to be vital today.

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