Trump’s Red Herring: Voter Fraud

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/09/opinion/trumps-red-herring-voter-fraud.html

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To the Editor:

Re “Asked for Data on Voters, States Give Trump Panel a Bipartisan ‘No’ ” (news article, July 1):

President Trump’s claim of millions of illegal votes is and has always been a red herring. What the White House probably desires in seeking comprehensive voter data is access to that data so that it can work in partnership with conservative groups to be as efficient as possible at demographically targeted voter registration purges and other suppression techniques before the 2018 midterm elections.

Republicans know that, among other issues, their proposed health care legislation set off a firestorm, and they are already planning for damage control at election time. What better way than to suppress voting among their adversaries? It’s far simpler than campaigning, with more guaranteed results.

MICHAEL HENCHMANVANCOUVER, WASH.

To the Editor:

President Trump’s Advisory Commission on Voter Integrity is asking all states to provide rafts of information about each voter (including legal name, date of birth, partial Social Security number) as part of research into the phantom notion that millions voted illegally last November.

Several things horrify me about this commission, and the data collection is one of them. Putting all that information (or even parts of it) into a single place is a gift to Russian hackers, identity thieves and others.

As for the integrity of our elections, while illegal voters are a drop in the ocean, the big thing is Russia’s interference, or attempted interference, in our 2016 process. I am stating the obvious, but government officials at all levels must address the real threat of more damaging episodes in 2018 and beyond.

NADINE GODWIN, NEW YORK

To the Editor:

Casting suspicion on the numerous states that are refusing to give information to the voter fraud panel, President Trump asked, “What are they trying to hide?”

Let’s make a deal: When the president reveals his tax returns, the states will reveal their voter data.

What’s sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander.

RICHARD HANDELSMANWEST PALM BEACH, FLA.

To the Editor:

When about 20 states rejected the requests by the White House’s “voter fraud” commission for detailed voting records, our president maliciously tweeted, “What are they trying to hide?”

The answer is simple: These states are hiding nothing; rather, they are defending our basic American right to vote in secret. The White House should be working with the Justice Department to stop the wave of voter suppression and Russian interference in our elections. Instead, it goes on a McCarthyist crusade against a nonexistent threat.

Clearly, Mr. Trump has no shame.

MARTIN M. MARKSCAMBRIDGE, MASS.