As part of our mission to defend every American’s right to vote, LDF has been closely monitoring the Administration’s Election Integrity Commission, which is tasked with investigating the president’s unfounded claims of voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election. We will continue to monitor the commission’s activities and take action where needed to prevent voter intimidation from the federal government.
Click here to be taken to Resources and Documents for this case.
2/14/17 “The president lays the groundwork for a nationwide voter intimidation program”: NAACP Legal Defense Fund President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill In The Washington Post
Although “voter fraud” has long been on the list of myths perpetuated by state-level Republican leaders to justify onerous voter ID laws, even Republican members of Congress have refused to endorse the president’s views about widespread voter fraud. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) has said that no federal dollars should be used to support the president’s search for voter fraud. Ayotte rejected Trump’s account of her defeat.
Thus, the president and his team’s peculiar repetition of claims about voter fraud must be recognized for what it is: They are laying the groundwork for forthcoming efforts. We should prepare for the president to issue a sweeping executive order requiring a nationwide investigation of alleged voter fraud. The justification for it will be as unmoored from facts, as was the basis for the seven Muslim-majority countries selected for the president’s travel ban. And the results will be just as, if not more, pernicious.
Read the full article here.
5/11/17 NAACP Legal Defense Fund Statement on Expected Voter Fraud Commission
“This commission is a thinly veiled voter suppression task force. Far from upholding the integrity of our election system, it is designed to impugn the integrity of African American and Latino participation in the political process. We are not mollified by President Trump’s passing reference to investigating voter suppression in this order. The real intent of this commission is clear. “
Read full statement here.
Read a pdf of our statement here.
5/11/17 LDF Filed Freedom of Information Act Requests in Response to Voter Fraud Commission
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) filed Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the White House’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) in response to the executive order filed earlier today that establishes a commission to investigate President Trump’s false allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election. This commission is a thinly veiled attempt at delegitimizing Black and Latino participation in the political process, and should be of grave concern to all Americans.
Read full note on request here.
5/26/17 LDF Expanded Efforts to Monitor Presidential Election Commission
The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) sent Freedom of Information Act requests to two states seeking documents related to President Trump’s recently formed Presidential Commission on Election Integrity. These requests follow two earlier rounds of requests that LDF sent earlier regarding the commission’s establishment: the first consisted of requests to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the Department of Justice, the second went to the Kansas Secretary of State and the Indiana Governor.
Read full request here.
6/29/17 LDF Statement on Kris Kobach’s Request for Publicly Available Voter-Roll Data
LDF President and Director-Counsel Sherrilyn Ifill issued the following statement on the voter-roll data request:”These extraordinary letters confirm what we suspected when the President announced the creation of this commission: that it is little more than an attempt to enlist the Executive Branch in voter suppression efforts on the false pretext of preventing election fraud. These sweeping requests by an ad hoc task force to compel the states to turn over voter information about private citizens, constitutes a breathtaking assertion of federal power. In essence, this commission attempts to make states a partner in the naked effort to create a justification for voter suppression. While our elected officials waste tax-payer resources on efforts aimed at curbing access to the voting booth, we continue to wait for responses to our many requests for information to which the public is entitled.”
Read full notes on request here.
6/30/17 LDF Letter to New York State Attorney General Schneiderman Opposing Release of Publicly Available Voter-Roll Data
“This sweeping and intrusive request risks creating a justification for voter intimidation and suppression, especially against communities of color. As an organization that since its founding in 1940 has worked to secure, protect, and advance voting rights for African-American and other communities of color, we applaud you for joining an ever-growing list of statesincluding California, Connecticut, Indiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Virginia, and Wisconsin that are declining to provide this information or limiting in scope their response.”
Read full pdf of letter here.
