WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, released the following statement Wednesday after President Trump shut down the flawed Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, a politically-motivated attempt to substantiate unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2016 election.
“The President’s Election Integrity Commission was a vehicle launched for the sole purpose of laying the groundwork to promote voter suppression policies on a national scale. This unprecedented effort demonstrated this administration’s clear hostility to voting rights. We mounted successful litigation against the Administration that exposed its failure to abide by federal transparency requirements and vowed to keep fighting until the Commission was terminated. Today’s Executive Order disbanding the Commission is a victory for those who are concerned about ensuring access to the ballot box across the country.
“That said, we will remain vigilant. As with the Muslim Ban, this Administration has a track record of repackaging and reissuing old and discriminatory policies. At every turn, we will fight this administration’s attempts to restrict the voting rights of ordinary Americans.”
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law undertook a series of comprehensive actions to challenge the Commission. This includes filing litigation in the D.C. District Court seeking for the Administration’s compliance with federal transparency requirements pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA); launching a hotline for the public to report instances of voter suppression (866-OUR-VOTE); issuing letters to Secretaries of State demanding they not comply with Kris Kobach’s request for private voter data; and 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.
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