Editorial: Voter records are public records

The Denver Post: After the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked all 50 states to provide publicly accessible voter registration data, outrage spread like wildfire. Many governors and secretaries of state, hoping not to get burned, balked at the request. In the process, they conveniently ignored their public records laws.

Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams took a more measured course. He might be a little overly optimistic about the value of the commission’s work, but he responded to the records request by saying he would follow Colorado law. Registered voters’ name, home address, party affiliation, birth year, phone number (if provided) and whether they voted in past elections are all public records in Colorado. Anyone can have them, even members of a presidential commission.

President Donald Trump formed the commission to root out massive voter fraud. He believes, but has offered no evidence, that millions of people voted illegally in 2016, giving Hillary Clinton a popular vote victory if not an Electoral College one.

At best, the commission is on a wild goose chase. At worst, it is based on a lie. Study after study has found that voter fraud is exceedingly rare. At worst, it is laying the groundwork for voter suppression.

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