President Donald Trump is disbanding his voter fraud commission amid state officials’ refusal to cooperate.
The commission was not going anywhere, Trump said, because Democrats were doing what they do best — defending and protecting illegal voting.
On Twitter early Thursday, Trump said states that wouldn’t cooperate must know they have people voting illegally.
Trump convened the commission to investigate the 2016 presidential election, after alleging that voting fraud cost him the popular vote.
The White House blamed the decision to end the panel on more than a dozen states that have refused to comply with the commission’s demand for reams of personal voter data, including names, partial Social Security numbers, voting histories and party affiliations.
Trump said in tweets early Thursday that the states, mostly Democratic leaning, “fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally,” he tweeted.
Many mostly Democrat States refused to hand over data from the 2016 Election to the Commission On Voter Fraud. They fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally. System is rigged, must go to Voter I.D.
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018
“As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do…..except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country.”
As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do…..except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country. Push hard for Voter Identification!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018
White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday that Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the commission “rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense.”
“He has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action,” she said.
Liberals complained that the commission was part of a conservative campaign to make it harder for poor people and minority voters to access the ballot box, and to justify Trump’s claims of voter fraud.
Trump has said that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election, delivering the popular vote to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, the commission’s vice chairman, characterized the decision to dissolve the bipartisan group as a “tactical change” and argued DHS can pursue an investigation of election fraud more quickly and efficiently.
“The Democrats, both on and off the commission, made very clear that they were not interested in determining the scope and extent of voter fraud and, indeed, they were trying to stop the commission in its tracks,” Kobach said. “The Democrats lost their opportunity, lost their seat at the table, by stonewalling.”
Kobach, a vocal supporter of tough voter ID laws, alleged Democrats wanted no investigation. “Their motto is, ‘Nothing to see here,’” he said.
One of the members of the commission, Democratic Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, sued the commission in federal court, alleging it had violated federal law by refusing to provide him documents available to other members, among other charges.
Dunlap on Wednesday said Kobach and his allies “were the ones that were stonewalling,” saying they had “very definite ideas of what they wanted this commission to come up with.”
More than a dozen states, as well as the District of Columbia, had rebuffed the commission’s request for voter data.
During the commission’s first meeting, Trump had questioned the motives of states that refused to comply with the commission’s request, suggesting they had something to hide.
Liberal groups and Democrats applauded Wednesday’s decision and celebrated it as a victory — a move critics said was just another case of a liberal defending illegal voters.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.