In response to litigation brought by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law demanding the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity operate in a transparent manner pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA), a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to show more evidence that a new commission tasked with investigating election fraud is complying with public-disclosure laws. The order for the Commission to compile a Vaughn index — a document that has been a fairly standard requirement of all Freedom of Information Act cases since the 1973 decision Vaughn v. Rosen — can be seen below. The Vaughn index includes itemized information that the Commission withheld, along with an explanation of why disclosure would damage its interests. Additionally, the Commission was ordered to describe each of its records, indicate who prepared them, and say whether the Commission believes each record is subject to disclosure.
Exhibit 1
Exhibit 2
Exhibit 3
The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law has undertaken a series of comprehensive actions to challenge the Commission. This includes filing litigation in the D.C. District Court demanding the Commission operate in a transparent manner pursuant to the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA); launching a hotline for the public to report instances of voter suppression (866-OUR-VOTE); sending letters to Secretaries of State demanding they not comply with Mr. Kobach’s request for voter roll data; filing a Hatch Act complaint against Mr. Kobach regarding his repeated exploitation of his Commission role to solicit campaign contributions and promote his candidacy for Governor of Kansas; and urging Secretaries of State to adopt a bipartisan resolution condemning the so-called Election Integrity Commission.
Sign Up Today!
