An election integrity commission vice chaired by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is meeting for the first time Wednesday in Washington. President Trump created the group, and they’ll study issues including voter fraud.
Kobach said this is an opportunity to have a nationwide fact finding mission on voting issues and voter fraud.
“To see what evidence there is of different forms of voter fraud across the country," said Kobach on CNN last month. "I may know in Kansas, and I do, but I can’t speak for the other 49 states. Put the facts on the table, let people draw their own conclusions."
Mark Johnson is an attorney who has worked on Kansas voting lawsuits. He hopes the commission will take an objective look at the issue, but he’s concerned the panel may use limited examples of voter fraud to justify changes in voting laws.
“There’s just so little evidence that actual voter fraud is a problem,” said Johnson.
Kobach attracted some criticism when he asked all 50 states for voter information to help the commission study fraud. That request has been put on hold for now because of a lawsuit.
Statehouse reporter Stephen Koranda talks with Kansas News Service editor Amy Jeffries about the commission and what recommendations it might make: