Vermont Business Magazine Yesterday President Trump announced that the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity was dissolved by executive order. Secretary Condos, who has been critical of the Commission from the outset, responded, “I am not surprised that this troubled and bogus Commission has been shut down. Since its formation, the faulty charge of this Commission has been to use trumped up claims of widespread voter fraud, with zero evidence, to weaken confidence in the integrity of our elections and push an aggressive voter suppression agenda.”
The Commission, chaired by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and Vice President Mike Pence, has been embroiled in legal controversy, facing a litany of legal challenges following a request for all states to turn over sensitive and private voter information, including dates of birth, driver’s license numbers and social security numbers.
The majority of state election officials, including Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos, refused to comply, citing that this request was overly broad, a gross federal overreach, and a violation of citizens’ rights to have their sensitive, personal information kept private and stored securely.
The Commission has even been sued by one of its own members for failing to operate transparently and for not including all members on communications regarding the work of the Commission.
“Commission or no, I will continue to stand up and protect Vermont voters’ personal and private information. We cannot allow the President’s unsubstantiated claims to distract us from the real election reform needed to ensure the integrity of our elections, like funding to update our elections infrastructure and increase cyber security to protect our elections from the interference of bad actors and foreign entities like Russia” said Secretary Condos.
“The right of eligible Americans to cast a ballot and have their voices heard is the cornerstone of our democracy. I will continue to resist any attempts by the President or his administration to restrict this fundamental right.”
Source: Condos 1.4.2018