Maryland Officials Reject Trump Voter Commission's Voter Roll Request

ANNAPOLIS, MD—Maryland officials rejected a request request for voter roll information from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. The response makes Maryland one of dozens of states that pushed pack again the commission's request.

The request, in the form of a letter to sent to all 50 states from Kris Kobach, the Kansas Secretary of States and the state's former Republican Party chairman, asks for all publicly available voter roll date. It then adds on requests for addresses, email addresses, birthdates, and the last four digits of people's social security numbers.

On Tuesday, Administrator of the Maryland State Board of Elections Linda Lamone wrote to Kobach that sharing voter registration and other information is against state law.

In addition, Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh said in a statement, "As Attorney General, I take seriously my responsibility to protect the voting rights and privacy interests of Maryland citizens. I find this request for the personal information of millions of Marylanders repugnant.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe also said he would not hand over voter information. In DC, Ward 6 Councilmember Charles Allen is introducing legislation to prevent data from being handed over, WTOP reported.

The commission was formed earlier this year by President Trump who has claimed that between 3 and 5 million illegal votes were cast for his opponent, Hillary Clinton, in 2016.

In his letter, Kobach says the material will allow the "commission to fully analyze the vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting."

Patch editor Colin Miner contributed to this story.

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