McAuliffe Rejects Trump Voter Commission's Voter Roll Request

RICHMOND, VA — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe rejected a request request for voter roll information from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity chaired by Vice President Mike Pence. His response makes Virginia 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.

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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."

McAuliffe said in a statement, "I have no intention of honoring this request. Virginia conducts fair, honest, and democratic elections, and there is no evidence of significant voter fraud in Virginia. This entire commission is based on the specious and false notion that there was widespread voter fraud last November."

In recent months, the governor has vetoed state legislation seeking to investigate voter fraud and give localities access to names of voters registered in multiple states.

Virginia is one of two states with governor's races this year, and all 100 House of Delegates seats are up for grabs. Voters will head to the polls on Nov. 7 to choose the next governor, since Virginia law bars McAuliffe from serving consecutive terms.

Patch editor Colin Miner contributed to this story.