Washington, D.C. – On Wednesday, President Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission convened for the first time. The meeting follows a rocky start for the Commission, during which voting rights, good government, and privacy advocates voiced serious concerns related to the Commission’s transparency, its request for personally-identifiable voter information, the history of appointed commissioners, and its conduct.

Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) releases the following statement:

“President Trump’s voting commission is a sham led by politicians with a history of suppressing the vote,” said Congresswoman Terri A. Sewell. “If President Trump is truly concerned about the integrity of our elections, this commission should address some of the real issues our democracy faces, like access to the polls and cybersecurity. Our country is facing a new wave of voter suppression, the Supreme Court has struck down our nation’s most powerful voter protections, and our election infrastructure is out-of-date. The integrity of our elections is at risk, but not from ‘voter fraud.’”

“President Trump’s sham commission should raise red flags for every American who cares about the integrity of our democracy, not just because they can’t be trusted with the facts, but because the facts in this case, are our personal, voting information. The Commission has requested personal information of American voters that is generally unavailable to the public, including names, addresses, dates of birth, political parties, voter histories, and the last four digits of Americans' social security numbers.  This is highly sensitive data that must be protected in accordance with federal laws that govern the collection of electronic data.”

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Rep. Terri A. Sewell (D-AL) is serving her fourth term representing Alabama’s 7th Congressional district. She sits on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and was recently appointed to the powerful House Ways and Means Committee. Sewell is a Chief Deputy Whip and serves on the prestigious Steering and Policy Committee of the Democratic Caucus. She is also a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, and serves as Vice Chair of the Congressional Voting Rights Caucus, and Vice Chair of Outreach for the New Democrat Coalition.