ACLU sues Trump administration over election fraud investigation

The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is being sued by the American Civil Liberties Union, which says the commission broke federal law by not having its first meeting open to the public.

Led by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the commission has only held one meeting so far, two months ago. It was done over the phone and not public, and since the law "applies to all meetings, even telephonic meetings, the commission has already violated" the Federal Advisory Committee Act, ACLU staff lawyer Theresa Lee told NPR. The commission's next meeting is scheduled for July 19, and will be done over video. That also doesn't count as "open," Lee said, "because it does not provide the opportunity for sufficient public oversight as required by law, and is notably inaccessible to any citizens without a computer and a broadband internet connection."

In June, the commission — formed after Trump made baseless allegations that millions of people managed to vote illegally in the last presidential election — sent letters to every state and the District of Columbia, requesting extensive voter data, including names, party affiliation, and the last four digits of their Social Security number. Most states have flat out refused to hand over the information, either saying they can't because of state law or they won't because it's an invasion of privacy. The deadline for information was supposed to be Friday, but NPR reports Pence's office sent an email to secretaries of state Monday saying they can wait until a judge rules on a different lawsuit stemming from the collection of the data, filed by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up