At least 44 states say they won’t provide all the information requested by a presidential commission looking into possible voter fraud, CNN reports.
More than half of the states have made public announcements they will not comply fully with the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, but the CNN survey of all 50 states found that at least 44 of them will not release all the information requested.
Republicans and Democrats alike cite voter privacy concerns, while Democrats also say the purpose of the commission, created in May by an executive order of President Donald Trump, is merely a ruse to validate Trump’s claim that voter fraud cost him the popular vote.
Information requested from the states includes voter’s full names, addresses, dates of birth, political party registration, the last four digits of their social security numbers, which elections they have voted in since 2006, felony convictions, whether they are also registered in other states, military status, and whether they live overseas.
Most states have said they will supply only information that is available to the general public. However, the vice chairman of the commission Kris Kobach said that this is “OK” because in the letter he sent to all 50 state secretaries of state requests only “public” voter information.
“Every state receives the same letter, but we’re not asking for it if it’s not publicly available,” he said. Kobach himself, who is Kansas secretary of state, declined to provide the partial Social Security numbers of his state’s voters.
CNN reported that two states are still reviewing the commission’s request, and two others have not returned calls seeking comment. Six states have not yet received the letter, but four of those already have said they won’t provide information. Only three states, Colorado, Missouri and Tennessee, have fully backed the effort.
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