GOP Official Quits Voter Fraud Panel As 41 States Refuse To Hand Over Data

FILE - In this March 18, 2014 file photo, voters cast their ballots in the state's primary election in Urbana, Ill. Illinois voters could register to vote on Election Day, have more time to cast early ballots and not... FILE - In this March 18, 2014 file photo, voters cast their ballots in the state's primary election in Urbana, Ill. Illinois voters could register to vote on Election Day, have more time to cast early ballots and not be required to bring photo identification to vote early under a plan state lawmakers have approved. Democrats pushed the legislation on the second-to-last day of the spring session in May with the idea that it'll improve November turnout. However, Republicans claim it is part of a larger effort to boost Democrats' numbers at the polls. (AP Photo/News-Gazette, John Dixon, File) MANDATORY CREDIT MORE LESS

By Alice Ollstein

July 4, 2017 9:38 a.m.

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Amid a wave of states refusing requests for personal voter data and a new legal complaint filed against its leader, the Trump administration’s “election integrity” panel saw its first resignation Monday night: Maryland’s Republican deputy secretary of state Luis E. Borunda.

Borunda, who did not immediately respond to TPM’s request for an interview, was appointed to the controversial panel on June 21. Unlike in most U.S. states, however, the Secretary of State’s office in Maryland has nothing to do with registering voters or administering elections. That falls to Maryland’s Attorney General and State Board of Elections, which on Tuesday joined the growing list of states refusing to cooperate with the national voter fraud panel’s demand for a long list of personal voter information, including the Social Security numbers, addresses and party affiliation of millions of citizens.

Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) railed against the request on Monday, calling it “repugnant.”

I find this request repugnant; appears designed only 2 intimidate voters and 2 indulge the President's fantasy that he won the popular vote.

— Brian Frosh (@BrianFrosh) July 3, 2017

Repeating a false story of expansive voter fraud, and then creating a commission to fuel that narrative, does not make it any more true.

— Brian Frosh (@BrianFrosh) July 3, 2017

Frosh added that even if he was inclined to cooperate with the bogus election integrity panel’s work, he was barred from handing over the sensitive information by state law.

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Alice Ollstein (@AliceOllstein) was a reporter at Talking Points Memo, covering national politics. She graduated from Oberlin College in 2010 and has been reporting in DC ever since, covering the Supreme Court, Congress and national elections for TV, radio, print, and online outlets. Her work has aired on Free Speech Radio News, All Things Considered, Channel News Asia, and Telesur, and her writing has been published by The Atlantic, La Opinión, and The Hill Rag. She was elected in 2016 as an at-large board member of the DC Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Alice grew up in Santa Monica, California and began working for local newspapers in her early teens.

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