After President Donald Trump announced a commission to investigate voter fraud, the Democratic National Committee countered him by launching a new commission intended to focus on what they believe to be the actual issue: voter suppression.
The Commission on Protecting American Democracy from the Trump Administration focuses on debunking the narrative that voter fraud is widespread.
Rep. Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) is the vice chair; her team says the commission will investigate voter-suppression and aim to provide more access to polls for all Americans.
Jason Kander, a former Missouri Secretary of State, is leading this DNC effort. He said to the Huffington Post that the DNC commission is mirroring and standing up to the actions of Trump’s commission.
“I would prefer that there not be a need for a commission to protect American democracy from the Trump administration. But there is,” Kander told the Huffington Post.
In a statement, Kander talked on the Trump presidency and how the only way he’ll win again is if he uses the electoral system to his favor.
“His commission is meant to pave the way for restrictive laws that will allow Republicans to win elections,” Kander said. “It’s wrong, it’s a danger to democracy, and we’re not going to let it happen.”
We reached out to Professor Pippa Norris, who teaches at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for a comment. She said:
“The most appropriate strategy for reform is not a partisan one but rather giving both the issue of voter inclusion and electoral security equal weight in seeking to improve U.S. elections. Both are problems which should be addressed to give citizens confidence in the electoral process. There are also many other issues, from the regulation of campaign finance to ridding the system of gerrymandering, which also require urgent attention in America.”
Which do you think is the real issue and why: voter fraud or voter suppression?
