Cummings: Voter fraud commission will ‘suppress the vote’

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.) slammed President Trump’s voter fraud panel on Wednesday, arguing that the real motive behind the presidential commission was to “suppress the vote.”

In a series of tweets, Cummings went after the commission for not investigating Russian interference in the 2016 election and accused the panel’s vice chairman, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, of not respecting voters’ personal information.

“How can you investigate ‘election integrity’ w/o investigating voter suppression & Russian interference in the 2016 election?” Cummings tweeted.

{mosads}

“Any commission on election integrity that can’t protect voters’ personal information will suppress the vote,” he added.

Any commission on election integrity that can’t protect voters’ personal information will suppress the vote. #RespectMyVote

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 19, 2017

The White House had released a number of emails from concerned citizen who had written to the commission, but it did not redact personal information, including names and email addresses.

Cummings on Wednesday pointed to an era of African-Americans being “denied access to the ballot box” in criticizing the panel, saying he feared that “history is repeating itself.”

“This is a fight to define what kind of country we will be. The American people can’t be silent. We need your voices.”

This is a fight to define what kind of country we will be. The American people can’t be silent. We need your voices. #RespectMyVote

— Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) July 19, 2017

Cummings has been a vocal critic of the commission. On Tuesday, he joined several other House Democrats to write a letter to the White House accusing Kobach of using the commission to promote his own campaign for governor of Kansas.

In the letter, the Democrats warned that Kobach’s actions indicated the commission would be used for “voter suppression.”

“Mr. Kobach has repeatedly claimed, falsely, that widespread voter fraud exists and advertises his work on the Commission to promote his own campaign for governor of Kansas,” the lawmakers wrote.

“These actions undermine the integrity of the Commission and raise significant concerns that the Commission will be used as a tool for voter suppression.”