NCLR Statement on Appointment of Kris Kobach to Presidential Commission on Election Integrity

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, President Trump announced the appointment of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to the newly created Presidential Commission on Election Integrity. The following is a statement by Janet Murguía, President and CEO, NCLR (National Council of La Raza), on the appointment:

“Today’s appointment of Kris Kobach to head the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity is the equivalent of the fox guarding the hen house. Kobach has a long and undistinguished record of disenfranchising eligible voters, particularly minorities, in the name of preventing voter fraud, which every available research shows is virtually nonexistent. Ironically, none of his actions have aimed to increase eligible Americans’ participation in our democracy, one of the actual challenges in assuring the integrity of our system, as evidenced by ever-decreasing rates of participation. Kobach instead has focused on making it harder for eligible Americans to vote. In addition, Kobach has had a long association with anti-immigrant extremist organizations and is the architect of state legislation in Arizona, Alabama, and now Texas, that purported to solve the immigration issue, but in fact does no such thing. As such, these unworkable, draconian and bigoted laws that violate the civil rights of citizens and noncitizens alike have been rejected by every court, up to and including the Supreme Court. His appointment represents yet another step this administration has taken to enact policies based on blatant falsehoods that needlessly target and demonize American communities, not to mention continuing to fill its ranks with voices of intolerance.”