Trump appointees shelved minority voting rights report
The U. S. Commission on Civil Rights spent months analyzing threats to minority voting rights during the coronavirus pandemic, coming up with what one commissioner called a “behemoth” set of recommendations.
But no one will see them. Conservative commissioners recently appointed by President Donald Trump voted to shelve the report, its findings and recommendations, even commissioners' statements.
The commissioner who led the research provided a glimpse of the report's contents during an August meeting, noting it covers problems with in-person and mail- in balloting faced by voters of color, people with disabilities, and those with medical conditions that make them vulnerable to the virus.
The full report, including what commission staff said should be done to overcome those obstacles, is not for public consumption, the commission said in a statement provided to USA TODAY.
“All Commission reports, as well as findings and recommendations, must pass by a majority vote,” the commission said. “That did not occur, so unfortunately we cannot share.”
The decision comes as the country faces a contentious presidential election amid a global pandemic while grappling with tensions over racism and police brutality. Trump has claimed – without evidence – the election will be rigged.
The commission, an independent federal agency whose work has informed landmark civil rights laws, is made up of eight members. Trump's appointments in May and August created a four- four split between conservatives and liberals. A move to release the voting-rights report failed in a tie.
Conservative lawyer J. Christian Adams, who was
appointed to the commission two weeks before the meeting, said in an email that he voted against releasing the report because it “overlooked the disenfranchising effect of mail voting,” such as ballots that are undeliverable, rejected, or lost. After he made similar assertions in June, PolitiFact ruled them mostly false.
Adams was a member of Trump's voter- fraud task force, which was disbanded without finding widespread fraud in 2018.
Stephen Gilchrist, a South Carolina businessman appointed in May, said in an interview he rejected the report because, coming so close to the presidential election, he found the timing “somewhat suspect.” He said he didn't agree with some of its contents, which he suggested were politically motivated.
“I'm one of these people that's going to be very cautious and careful about ensuring that we stay focused on the issues at hand rather than trying to be political or take digs at any administration,” Gilchrist said.
The Democratic chair of the commission said it has been silenced on a crucial issue at a critical time.
“I am deeply dismayed that after months of work on a topic that is core to the commission's congressional charge – and has been now for six decades – for the commission not to speak to this moment, which is unlike any other in terms of an effort to vote in the history of this country,” said Catherine Lhamon, a California civil rights lawyer who was appointed by President Barack Obama in 2016.