Arkansas to release some information to voting commission
LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas won’t release all of the information sought by a commission formed by President Donald Trump to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 election, officials said Wednesday, as the state’s Republican governor called the panel’s request for data too broad.
Secretary of State Mark Martin’s office said it had received the panel’s request and has only released publicly available information about the state’s voters. Spokesman Chris Powell said that means the state would not release any Social Security or driver’s license numbers, felony convictions or the military status of voters. Powell said the information was transmitted to the panel Wednesday morning.
Arkansas joins other conservative states that voted for Trump but have said they cannot provide all of the information sought by the commission. Other states, including California and New York, have refused to comply at all with the panel’s request. Trump easily won Arkansas’ six electoral votes in the November election.
Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson said he had recommended that Martin not provide all of the data sought by the panel, saying the request would have included sensitive information about Arkansas’ voters.
“While we remain committed to ensuring the integrity of and confidence in our electoral process, providing all of the information requested is not in the best interest of Arkansas voters,” Hutchinson said in a statement. “I continue to have confidence in the secretary of state’s efforts to ensure that Arkansas’ elections are free and fair.”
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked secretaries of state to provide, by July 14, voters’ information including birthdates, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers, about felony convictions and military status, party affiliations, what elections they voted in since 2006, and voter registration in other states.
The letter also seeks information about instances of voter fraud in each state, information on election-related convictions since November 2000 and recommendations on changes to federal law. Powell said Martin’s office has not sent responses to those other questions yet.