“We know there are very serious problems in our democracy that voters want addressed, such as foreign interference and voter suppression efforts, but this commission never planned on tackling any of those,” Danielle Lang, CAmpsigb Legal Center senior counsel, said in a statement. “Instead, the commission was nothing more than a partisan tool to implement an agenda that would make it harder for Americans to vote. Thus far, DHS has been focused on real election integrity issues related to hacking and security of our electoral infrastructure, as it should be. CLC will be watching closely to see if President Trump and former Kansas Secretary of State Kobach, vice-chair of the commission, will try to derail DHS's work in an effort to continue to push a partisan agenda that makes it more difficult for Americans to participate in the political process.”
With the exception of Arkansas, the states originally balked at proving the data requested by the commission, concerned that voter privacy would be compromised and that the information would be used to suppress votes.
The commission put its efforts on hold after the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC), filed for a restraining order in a federal court in the District of Columbia, seeking to bar the commission from gathering data, prompting the commission to temporarily halt its efforts. But a judge denied the request saying EPIC hasn't proven harm. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) has also filed a lawsuit against the commission, questioning the transparency of the commission chaired by Vice President Mike Pence.
Co-Chairman Kris Kobach, the controversial Kansas Secretary of State, promised to preserve voter privacy and ensure the security of the data, allaying concerns of some lawmakers like Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams who called it "a significant improvement" that would hopefully lure back voters in the state who had unregistered in protest.
“It's my hope that citizens who withdrew their registration will re-register, particularly once they realize that no confidential information will be provided and that the parties and presidential candidates already have the same publicly available information from the 2016 election cycle,” Williams said at the time.
Democrats on the commission, which only met twice during its short, turbulent tenure, contended they were being left out and the group was besieged by lawsuits.