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MICHAEL F. BENNET WasngToN, 0; AGRICULTURE, NUTRITION, AND FORESTRY Wnited States Senate rant Rte WASHINGTON, DC 20610-0600 “i eee HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, etaeetieier "AND PENSIONS July 14, 2017 The Honorable Mike Pence ‘The Honorable Kris Kobach Vice President Vice-Chairman ‘The White House Presidential Advisory Commission on 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW Election Integrity Washington, DC 20500 Memorial Hall, 1st Floor 120 SW 10th Avenue Topeka, KS 66612-1594 Dear Vice President Pence and Secretary of State Kobach: I write to ask you to immediately terminate the wasteful and harmful Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity (“the Commission”). This Commission was formed as the result of delusion, conspiracy theories, and truly "fake news," but it is having a very real and dramatically chilling effect on voter participation, The stated purpose of the Commission is “to increase the American people's confidence in the integrity of our election systems.” Yet, the entire premise for its origination has zero basis in any peer-reviewed study or analysis. Asa country, there are actual and substantial threats to our democracy that we must address. Rather than waste taxpayer resources indulging invented claims of “serious voter fraud,” voters being bussed into New Hampshire, and millions of “illegal” votes,’ we should take meaningful steps to address voter suppression and increase voter participation, And we should act on the ‘unanimous assessment of our intelligence agencies that Russia undertook blatant and shocking ‘measures t0 influence the outcome of our election. ‘The Administration instead has chosen to embark on a taxpayer-funded fishing expedition, which is further eroding trust and confidence in our democratic institutions and perpetuating fear in communities throughout our country. In fact, the Commission is already having an alarming effect on voter registration in my home state of Colorado, More than 3,390 people statewide in Colorado have withdrawn their voter registrations, Voters are specifically citing the commission as a reason for withdrawing. In Denver County, at least 472 people have withdrawn their voter registrations since July 3, which corresponds roughly with the time the Commission's request for voter information was made public. In contrast, only 20 people canceled their registrations in the ' Trump, Donald J. (@reaiDonaldTrump), “Serious voter fraud in Virginia, New Hampshire and California - so why isn't the media reporting on this? Serious bias - big problem!” 27 Nov. 2016, 5:31 PM. Tweet. 2 Seelye, Katharine Q. “Voter Fraud in New Hampshire? Trump Has No Proof and Many Skeptics.” New York Times. 13 Feb. 2017. Prin * Trump, Donald J. (@reeIDonaldTrump), “In addition to winning the Electoral College in a landslide, I won the popular vote ifyou deduct the millions of people who vated illegally.” 27 Nov. 2016, 1:30 PM. Tweet preceding two weeks. In Boulder County, 329 voters canceled their registrations in the first 10 days of July. During the first 10 days of June, only 15 voters withdrew their registration. In Colorado, we have taken great pride in expanding access for voter participation while protecting the integrity of our elections. We have led the nation in adopting early voting, mail-in ballots, and same-day registration. This Commission is working directly counter to those efforts and is stifling the progress we have made, Given the spike in these registration withdrawals, I request that you immediately end the Commission and describe how you intend to reverse the damage that it has already caused in my state. Tlook forward to your response. Sincerely, Michael F. Bennet United States Senator “ Eason, Brian. “Hundreds of Colorado voters clamor to unregister in wake of Trump administration’s request for information.” Denver Post. 11 July 2017. Print

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