Trump stokes voter fraud fears as commission convenes 'This commission has no preconceived notions,' Pence said. But Trump has already claimed 'millions' voted illegally.

President Donald Trump put the power of the presidency behind one of his favorite theories on Wednesday, convening a panel to investigate voter fraud even though experts have largely dismissed his evidence-free claim that “millions” of illegal votes last year cost him the popular vote.

Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity created by executive order in May, said at the group's first meeting that its findings were not predetermined. But Trump himself has repeatedly declared, without evidence, that mass voter fraud took place during the 2016 election.


And by Wednesday afternoon, the fraud theories became even more muddled when Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, Trump’s hand-picked vice chair of the commission, indicated he had no way of knowing who actually won the 2016 election.

Kobach said on MSNBC that "we may never know" if Democrat Hillary Clinton won the popular vote. Pressed by host Katy Tur on whether the same logic applied to Trump's November victory, he replied: "Absolutely."

Experts and election-watchers stand by the 2016 results, in which Clinton won the nationwide popular vote by 3 million votes but Trump took the presidency by winning in the Electoral College. Those results have been certified by Congress.

Pence's office did not respond to requests to explain whether he agrees with Trump that millions of people voted illegally, which principal deputy press secretary Sarah Sanders said later was Trump's “opinion.”

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The president further stoked fears of voter fraud at the start of the commission meeting on Wednesday, saying states that have declined to provide information to the committee are attempting to hide something.

A bipartisan group of secretaries of state declined to provide some voter information to the committee, voicing fears about the security of the data that they were asked to provide.

“What are they worried about?” Trump asked. “There’s something. There always is.”

Democrats and voting rights advocates have slammed the commission, which Pence’s office said would cost $500,000 over two years, as a thinly-veiled Republican attempt to curtail voting rights, especially among minorities and young people, who tend to vote for Democrats.

"The commission was born out of President Trump's tweet that he won the popular vote, when we all know he didn't. That's what this commission was founded to do, to give some veneer of legitimacy to that," said Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project. The ACLU has challenged some of the commission's activities in court.

During the opening statements, a number of members questioned whether non-citizens voting or fraud could affect election outcomes. But there was little discussion of Russian interference in the 2016 election, which is the subject of multiple investigations, or concerns about cybersecurity.

“Our elections face serious concerns including attempted foreign cyber intrusions, partisan motivated voter suppression, and the desperate need for modernization of our election administration and voting technology. Voters should demand a true bipartisan effort to tackle these problems,” Trevor Potter, president of the Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement.

Along with Kobach — who the ACLU's Ho said has a "terrible record of violating his own citizens' voting rights" — the commission includes a number of controversial figures, including Hans von Spakovsky of the conservative Heritage Foundation. He is a long-time proponent of strict voter ID laws, which studies show have a disproportionate impact on minority and young adult citizens.

“Members of this commission, including me, have already been subjected to vicious and defamatory personal attacks,” Von Spakovsky said on Wednesday. “Those who want to ensure the integrity of the election process are only interested in preserving our great democracy.”

