Trumps voter suppression commission gets hit with third major lawsuit in eight days
Trumps voter suppression commission gets hit with third major lawsuit in eight days
http://shareblue.com/trumps-voter-suppression-commission-gets-hit-with-second-major-lawsuit-in-eight-days/
By Eric Boehlert | July 18, 2017
According to one count, there are now at least seven federal lawsuits in total pending against this draconian and highly unpopular "Election Integrity Commission."
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Alleging that the White Houses voter fraud commission was formed as a way to discriminate against voters of color and suppress participation, the NAACPs Legal Defense and Education Fund, along with Ordinary People Society, filed a lawsuit Tuesday in federal court.
The suit argues that the so-called Election Integrity Commission is unconstitutional because it was created to discriminate against a group of voters, that Donald Trump does not have the power to create such a commission, and that the commissions overwhelmingly skewed composition and pre-determined findings violate the law governing federal advisory committees.
The NAACPs move comes one week after ACLU went to court to try to stop the besieged commission, and four days after Common Cause filed a lawsuit to protect voter privacy. There are now at least seven federal lawsuits pending, according to one count.
Co-chaired by Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the commission is intended to investigate baseless allegations made by Trump that millions of fraudulent ballots were cast during last Novembers election.
Two weeks ago, Kobach sparked a national controversy when he demanded that all 50 states hand over their voter rolls, including such personal information as Social Security numbers, party affiliation, addresses, birth dates, mothers maiden names, criminal backgrounds, and the military history of voters.
The move created a bipartisan backlash, as virtually every secretary of state refused to fully comply with Kobachs unprecedented data request.
My response to the Commission is, youre not going to play politics with Louisianas voter data, announced Louisianas Republican secretary of state, Tom Schedler.
The voters have also expressed their deep disdain for the commission, which recently requested public input and was met with an avalanche of condemnations. You are bad for the USA, wrote one commenter.
Meanwhile, there was more bad news for the commission on Tuesday. Ranking Democratic representatives from four different House committees Elijah Cummings, John Conyers Jr., Bennie Thomspon, and Robert Brady are demanding Kobach resign from the commission.