Washington, DC – The League of Women Voters president, Chris Carson issued the following statement in response to reports that President Trump will announce an election commission to investigate false claims of widespread voter fraud in American elections:

“President Trump’s ‘Election Integrity Commission’ is an unnecessary distraction from the real work to protect against foreign hacking and interference in our electoral process. The real purpose of this effort is to justify President Trumps’ false claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 elections.

“This effort begins with a deep credibility gap. Commission members’ views on elections are well known and have been discredited as political ideologues with dangerous agendas. This is part of a wider effort to suppress the vote, keep certain politicians in power, and undermine our elections by spreading falsehoods.

“Today’s announcement is just another distraction from the real issues and we expect that any findings or recommendations from this Commission will only be used to make it harder for people to vote in the future.

“The White House is attempting to bury this Commission at a time when the nation and Congress are consumed with this administration’s own Russia scandal.

“The real problems with our electoral system are the suppressive laws that prevent eligible voters from access to the ballot. False claims of voter fraud have been used to push through more restrictive voting laws including voter ID, proof of citizenship requirements and limiting or reducing early voting opportunities.

“This administration is laying the groundwork to usher in widespread discrimination in our systems of voting and manipulate our democracy.