DNC voting rights panel vows to push back against Trump voter fraud commission

The Democratic National Committee’s Voting Rights Commission spoke out against Trump’s initiative, called the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, just hours before the panel’s members gathered at the White House for its inaugural meeting.

“We’re serious in making sure we push back against what we’re hearing from the Trump administration,” Michael Blake, vice chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Wednesday. “People should be having the opportunity to vote, not having their votes taken away.”

The Democratic National Committee’s efforts were launched in response to Trump’s voter fraud commission, which is chaired by Vice President Mike Pence.

Trump created the commission based on the claim that millions of illegal immigrants voted illegally for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election, which caused him to win the popular vote.

The commission said it plans to study vulnerabilities in the federal election system that could lead to voter fraud, but Democrats believe the voter fraud panel only exists to suppress voters.

“We hear this nonsensical myth of voter fraud,” Blake said. “It is not happening. We are not seeing that. We will not allow them to move forward in a way that will hurt our committees.”

Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., said she was “deeply disturbed” by those tapped to serve on the commission, including Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who serves as the panel’s vice chair.

And though Sewell said she agreed with Trump that elections are in need of repair, she disagreed on what specifically needs to be fixed.

“We need to protect our elections from online threats and cyberattacks,” Sewell said. “The integrity of our election is at risk right now, but not from voter fraud.”

“People died, bled, and fought for the right to vote, and it’s unacceptable this president would make a mockery out of voting that’s based on voter fraud and not voter suppression,” she continued.