The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. | Evan Vucci/AP Photo ACLU sues Trump over election integrity commission

The American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit on Monday against President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, alleging the commission lacks transparency and violates the Federal Advisory Committee Act.

The 31-page complaint focuses on the Pence-Kobach Commission, which came under fire for its recent voter information requests. At least 44 states have refused to comply with requests from the commission to hand over certain types of voter information.


“Defendants have violated FACA in two respects,” the complaint read. “The Pence-Kobach Commission has already held its first meeting without public notice; without making that meeting open to the public; and without timely notice in the Federal Register.”

The second allegation by the ACLU claims that the commission was created to veil the fact that Trump did not win the popular vote in the 2016 presidential race. The ACLU contends that the commission’s actions stray from its stated purpose to “submit a report to the President on related ‘laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies and practices.’”

The ACLU requests that the Pence-Kobach Commission admit that it violated FACA regulations and that it begin following the executive order’s decrees.

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The Federal Advisory Committee Act, which was enacted in 1972, mandates that federal advisory committees have open meetings, chartering, public involvement and reporting. The U.S. General Services Administration, currently headed by Timothy O. Horne, is supposed to regulate this accountability.

