Congressman Blumenauer Rejects “Presidential Commission on Election Integrity” as Attempt to Mask Voter Suppression

Washington, DC – Today, Congressman Earl Blumenauer (OR-03), released the following statement on Donald Trump’s issuance of an executive order to establish a “Presidential Commission on Election Integrity”:

“This commission is nothing but an attempt to further disenfranchise American voters. The fact that it’s headed by elected officials from two states with a long history of voter suppression – Mike Pence from Indiana and Kris Kobach from Kansas – is revealing of its underlying nature. 

“We have independent analysis showing that Trump’s claim of, “millions of people,” voting illegally in the 2016 election is not only false, but entirely unfounded. He needs to let this go. This is just another shameless attempt to deflect attention from his Administration’s ties to Russia and controversy around his firing of James Comey.

“Trump’s claims of voter fraud are masking the real problem with our electoral system: voter suppression is happening in states across the country. 

“We need to improve access to the ballot and make it easier to vote, not harder. That’s why Senator Wyden and I have been pushing for legislation to enact federal reform of our voting system to expand a tried and true solution: Oregon’s Vote By Mail program. 

“Voting is a fundamental right, and any attempts by the Trump regime to undermine that must be stopped.”

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