Almost every state resists Trump’s voter fraud commission

In a rare display of bipartisanship, officials in nearly every state have said they will partially or fully refuse to comply with President Donald Trump’s voting commission, which has encountered criticism and opposition after issuing a sweeping request for voter data nationwide.

Even as some of the resistance centers on Trump and members of his commission, the broader responses from the states indicate a strong and widespread belief that local officials should be managing elections and that the White House’s request for volumes of information went too far.

“What it says is some Republicans actually still believe in federalism and that our constitution still governs the way states hold their elections,” still Rick Wilson, a longtime GOP strategist and frequent Trump critic, who called the resistance by Republican state-level officials “commendable.” He also pointed to the commission’s origins in Trump’s repeated — and unsubstantiated — claims that voter fraud is widespread and cost him the popular vote last year.

“If Trump’s theory is correct, that means these states allowed voter fraud to occur,” Wilson said. “By definition, it will have to include a bunch of Republican states and they don’t like that . ... Most elections in the states are run beautifully.”

The resistance has swept across red and blue states alike, drawing in Democratic critics of the president and Republicans uneasy about a broad federal request they suggest intrudes on states’ rights. It also casts a continued shadow over a probe Trump said could lead officials to “strengthen up voting procedures.”

In his executive order, Trump said the group would issue a report identifying “vulnerabilities ... that could lead to improper voter registrations and improper voting.” Experts and voting rights advocates called the group a “sham,” saying they fear it will lead to increased voting restrictions. It is unclear what the pushback against the recent requests could mean for the panel’s ultimate report, expected in 2018.

This unease has been notable for expanding beyond Democratic critics of the president.