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WASHINGTON, D.C. – Kristen Clarke, president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, released the following statement Tuesday at the conclusion of the second meeting of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, a slanted commission established by President Trump and co-led by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach that threatens the rights of minority voters:

“Today’s Commission meeting in New Hampshire lacked diversity, facts, or actual solutions to support our democracy and combat voting discrimination that we know prevents racial minorities from voting.  Instead, Kris Kobach and his colleagues continued marshaling data in misleading ways to continue building a false narrative that voter fraud exists.  This myth has been widely discredited, and yet we listened to commissioners reiterate these claims in ways that proved truly irresponsible. 

“Today’s Commission meeting must be viewed in the context of a Justice Department that has all but abandoned its obligation to enforce laws that would eliminate voting discrimination.  The Commission is part of the administration’s broader agenda to promote national policies that would make it harder for minority communities to vote.”

Tuesday’s Commission meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire, featured a stacked line up of guest panelists who provided absolutely no racial, gender, or ideological diversity.  In fact, every one of the ten panelists called to speak was a white male and many are among the nation’s most vocal voter suppression advocates.  Ahead of Tuesday’s meeting, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law filed public comments filed outlining the glaring problems with the Commission including its lack of ideological diversity or commitment to transparency in accordance with federal law.

 

About the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law:

The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, was formed in 1963 at the request of President John F. Kennedy to involve the private bar in providing legal services to address racial discrimination.  Now in its 54th year, the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is continuing its quest “Move America Toward Justice.” The principal mission of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law is to secure, through the rule of law, equal justice for all, particularly in the areas of criminal justice, fair housing and community development, economic justice, educational opportunities, and voting rights.