President Donald Trump is upset he lost the popular vote by such a historic margin, and this month he announced he is going to do something about it. What started as a presidential lie about voter fraud has turned into the President’s “Commission on Election Integrity,” a group that poses an actual threat to American democracy. With so much bad news coming out of the White House, a scandal can feel like a welcome distraction from Trump’s policy proposals, which have the potential to harm many Americans. And that’s exactly what’s happening now. As the investigation into the Trump campaign’s alleged ties to Russia gets underway, the President has formed a sham of a commission to suppress voting rights.
Republicans, of course, are taking full advantage. When Trump made up the lie that millions of illegal votes were cast in the 2016 election — ultimately causing him to lose the popular vote — Vice President Mike Pence and other party leaders saw an opening to take their state and local efforts to suppress voters, until now through voter ID laws enacted in 34 states, to the national stage.
So what started as a way to soothe Trump’s ego after losing the popular vote has become the perfect vehicle to attacking American voting rights and making it easier for Republicans to win elections.
While the President has the most authority to change and influence elections, he lacks the know-how. So when Kris Kobach, one of the biggest champions of voter suppression in the country and new head of the electoral commission, has the ear of the President, fire meets gasoline.
Full Article: Trump’s electoral commission is a sham (opinion) – CNN.com.