The ACLU of Arizona last week filed a public records request with the Arizona Secretary of State seeking documentation related to the state’s cooperation with the Federal Election Integrity Commission, which in June asked states to submit voters’ full names, the last four digits of their social security numbers, their voting histories and information regarding felony convictions.
The ACLU of Arizona is requesting the Secretary of State’s answers to seven questions the commission asked in a June 28 letter. Among other requests, the commission asked for “evidence or information … regarding instances of voter fraud or registration fraud” in Arizona. The ACLU is also seeking all communications and documents related to the Secretary of State’s responses and any communications since January 1 between the Secretary of State’s office and the commission or its members.
The ACLU of Arizona is not requesting any private voter information or voter roll data.
This public records request, which ACLU affiliates are replicating in states across the country, comes after the ACLU national office sued the Trump administration over the commission’s failure to comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act, a law that guarantees transparency and public accountability of advisory committees. Since the ACLU filed this lawsuit, the commission has created a website, disclosed the introductory email and agenda from its first telephonic meeting, and pledged to make all documents related to the commission’s next meeting available.
President Trump created the commission via executive order, placing Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as its de facto leader. The ACLU has successfully sued Kobach many times because of his voter suppression policies.
A federal magistrate recently fined Kobach $1,000 in a voting-related lawsuit for “deceptive conduct and lack of candor.” The judge said that Kobach and his legal team had “made patently misleading representations to the court.”
Read the ACLU of Arizona public records request to Arizona Secretary of State Michele Reagan.
