ACLU Comment on Trump Administration’s Effort to Gather Details on All Voters in America

NEW YORK — Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach sent a letter on behalf of President Trump’s election commission this week seeking details on every registered voter in the country. The American Civil Liberties Union has successfully challenged Kobach numerous times over his voter suppression policies. He was also recently fined by a federal magistrate for making “patently misleading representations to the court” about documents related to the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA)

Kobach has not indicated how the commission would use the information it gathers, which includes names, addresses, birthdates, political affiliation, last four digits of Social Security numbers, and voting history. However, the commission does reportedly plan to make all those details widely available. Several states are already refusing to comply.

The Justice Department has simultaneously said it is reviewing voter registration list maintenance procedures in each state covered by the NVRA and asking states how they plan to remove voters from the rolls.

Dale Ho, director of the ACLU’s Voting Rights Project, said:

“King of Voter Suppression Kris Kobach and the Trump administration are launching a nationwide assault on voting rights. That Kobach — who has been successfully sued many times for voter suppression — is now asking for details on every single voter in the U.S. is deeply alarming and raises significant privacy concerns. States are right to balk at turning over massive reams of personal information in what clearly is a campaign to suppress the vote.”

More information is at: https://www.aclu.org/other/aclu-response-trump-election-commission-executive-order