Washington, D.C.- U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) filed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would require an audit by the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. President Trump established the Commission by executive order in May 2017.
“There is simply no evidence of widespread voter fraud in the United States,” Bennet said. “The Commission is wasting taxpayer money investigating the President’s invented claims about voter fraud, while serious threats like Russian interference in our elections go unaddressed. This partisan Commission shouldn’t exist in the first place. At a minimum, the GAO should audit its activities to ensure it isn’t working to reduce voter participation and that it is using data and facts-rather than conspiracy theories-to inform its conclusions. So far, it has failed on both fronts. This amendment will ensure the Commission operates with transparency and accountability, and that voter information is being adequately protected.”
“Trump’s election integrity commission is nothing but a sham that is undermining one of our most fundamental of rights – access to the ballot box,” Booker said. “That’s why we seek to disband the Commission. If the President was truly worried about the integrity of our elections he would be more concerned with voter suppression efforts and Russian interference -two threats that pose an actual danger to our electoral process. Our amendment would, after the Commission is terminated, provide much-needed accountability to the commission by ensuring it did not misuse voters’ information in order to prevent future abuse.”
As of July 2017, over 5,000 Coloradans have unregistered to vote, citing concerns of privacy because of the Commission. The amendment will require the Comptroller General of the United States to submit a report to Congress detailing the amount of federal funds expended by the Commission, the information and analytical methods it uses, and all privacy measures taken to protect voter information.