How bogus is President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission? One of the group’s own members, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, has filed a lawsuit to get more information about what the panel is doing since no one is telling him, or other Democratic members. It is one of many lawsuits filed against the President’s Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. In his lawsuit, Dunlap contends that the commission is violating the Federal Advisory Committee Act, which seeks to prevent groups like the election advisory commission from being used to advance partisan objectives under the guises of a balanced review. The act says that the membership of advisory committees must be “fairly balanced in terms of the points of view represented.” In addition, commission materials must be available to all members. Dunlap’s suit alleges that only some commission members are preparing materials and then those materials are not shared with the entire commission, which includes seven Republicans and four Democrats. Materials, which Dunlap and other commission members have not previously seen, have been presented at commission meetings, where it is clear that other members have participated in writing them.
There are hundreds of documents prepared by and for the commission, according to another lawsuit involving the election commission. Most were not shared with Dunlap, according to his legal complaint.
Last month, Dunlap and an Alabama probate judge, who is also a Democratic member of the commission, wrote to its executive director seeking information.
“I think the basis of this whole commission was an urban legend,” Alan King, a probate judge in Alabama who signed the letter with Dunlap, told the Washington Post. “If you’re going to go down this road, it needs to be done right, and it needs to be done in a professional way. So far, I haven’t seen that.”
Instead, it appears the some on the commission are building a case for tighter voting restrictions based on materials they are not willing to share with commission members who don’t share their political motivations.
Full Article: What is Trump’s voter fraud commission hiding? — Editorials — Bangor Daily News — BDN Maine.