Trump’s Voter Commission Fraud May Have Violated the Law

U.S. President Donald Trump’s voter fraud commission may have violated the law, according to recent reports. The commission allegedly ignored federal requirements that govern information requests from states.

Experts say the commission’s failure to submit requests to the Office of Management and Buget’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs is a violation of the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) established in 1980.

Violation of this law may mean that states can refuse to respond.

Last week, the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked all 50 states as well as the District of Columbia to deliver extensive information on voters. That information included political party registration, full names, addresses and even the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

Many states have argued that the federal government is overstepping its bounds with the request. Among the 50 states that received the request, 44 are resisting to provide the information.

The commission’s request is part of its effort to promote fair and honest elections. The voter fraud commission was formed after Trump said he lost the popular vote because of widespread voter fraud. His claim has been rejected by both Republican and Democratic state officials.

A spokesman for the White House argued that the commission was exempt from the Paperwork Reduction Act’s requirements because it is not an agency.

“The Paperwork Reduction Act only applies to information collections by agencies,” said a spokesman for Vice President Pence in an email. “The Commission is an entity that ‘serve solely to advise and assist the President,’ and is not, therefore, an agency subject to PRA.”

The Paperwork Reduction Act has a very broad definition for “agency.” Only information requests submitted by the Federal Election Commission and Government Accountability Office are exempt.

Under the law, agencies must justify their requests for the information, provide details on how the information will be used and provide assurance that the information will be protected. Whenever a request is submitted, the Office of Management and Budget gives documents a reference or control number.

The letter sent from the voter fraud commission to the states had no markings, which caused experts to believe it did not go through the formal request process.