In response to an open-records request, Secretary of State Paul Pate has turned over the “sum total” of correspondence between his office and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity — two emails. The American Civil Liberties Union of Iowa requested the correspondence as part of its nationwide effort to gather all communications between the commission and state election officials. ACLU could have made a “simple inquiry” rather than go through the public records request process, Pate said. He suggested ACLU’s intent was “not to obtain information, but to receive media coverage.” ACLU of Iowa rejected that criticism, but Executive Director Mark Stringer said the organization is satisfied with Pate’s response.
“We believe that the people have a right to know about the activities of President Trump and the commission,” Stringer said in a statement Monday.
The emails Pate made available were one from advisory committee Vice Chairman Kris Kobach, the Kansas secretary of state, asking for voter data along with Pate’s thoughts on laws, policies and practices that “enhance or undermine the American people’s confidence in the integrity of the electoral process.” The second email asked the state not turn over the publicly available information until a judge rules on a legal challenge to the request.
Full Article: Pate submits election commission correspondence | Government and Politics | qctimes.com.