You don’t need me to add my voice to the chorus of those who have pointed out that the administration’s “Election Integrity” commission is a sham. Chair Kris Kobach and partisan functionaries Hans von Spakovsky and Ken Blackwell are on the panel to stoke fears of voter fraud so they then can gin up dubious policies designed to make it harder for citizens of color, and citizens without means, and students, and the elderly, to vote. Think of the commission as an extension of a Republican policy choice over the past decade or so; if we cannot compete for votes with our policies we’ll simply make it harder (or impossible) for likely Democratic voters to vote.
One way to respond to this anti-democratic strategy is to do precisely what scores of state officials, both Republicans and Democrats, have done over the past few weeks. No fewer than 44 secretaries of state have told federal vote suppressors to buzz off when Kobach and company asked for data from local voting rolls. I cannot remember that last time 44 states of this not-so-perfect union agreed on anything so controversial. The skepticism displayed by these local officials, the distrust of the commission’s motives, the reflex to respect privacy rights and true election integrity—is encouraging. But it is not enough.
Full Article: The Case for Courage | Brennan Center for Justice.