The N.C. State Board of Elections says it will provide voting data to a special White House commission hunting for voter fraud. But amid concerns over the Trump administration’s June 28 request, the board says it will limit the information to publicly available voter data.
“We understand concerns about voters’ privacy. The State Board will provide to the Commission publicly available data as already required under state law,” Kim Westbrook Strach, executive director of the Bipartisan State Board of Elections & Ethics Enforcement, said in a press release Friday.
That includes voters’ names, addresses and party affiliations; and a list of when they voted.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity says in a letter to all the states that it’s studying laws, policies and practices that “enhance or undermine the American people’s confidence in the integrity of federal elections processes.”
The president set up the commission after his claims that millions of people voted illegally last November - claims that have been discredited.
But the letter has drawn fire from some states, which have pledged not to cooperate. They're concerned the Trump administration might seek measures to limit voter participation.
Former Gov. Pat McCrory conducted his own hunt for voter fraud after losing re-election last fall. Investigations found some irregularities, but no evidence of widespread fraud.
In a statement Friday afternoon, current Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper raised questions about the commission's request.
Cooper said: "Integrity of our elections is critical, and a recent State Board of Elections investigation already found there was no evidence of significant voter fraud in North Carolina. My staff has told the State Board of Elections that we should not participate in providing sensitive information beyond what is public record as it is unnecessary, and because I have concerns that it is an effort to justify the President's false claims about voter fraud."
RELATED LINKS
June 28, 2017, Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity letter to North Carolina’s elections board (PDF)
June 30, 2017, NPR.org,"White House Panel Asks States For Their Voter Rolls."
