Lawson withholds info from Trump's voter fraud commission, even though she's a member

Show Caption Hide Caption Trump 'voter fraud' commission wants voters' data from all 50 states President Trump is taking the next step in his effort to crack down on possible voter fraud in the 2016 election. Veuer's Nick Cardona (@nickcardona93) has that story.

A member of President Donald Trump's commission on voter fraud from Vice President Mike Pence's home state is withholding most of the voter information the commission requested this week.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson won't provide information about voters' Security numbers, birthdates, political affiliation or voting history.

She said in a statement Friday that state law only allows her to share voter names, congressional districts and addresses.

“Indiana law doesn’t permit the Secretary of State to provide the personal information requested by Secretary Kobach," Lawson, a Republican, said Friday in a statement.

My statement on the CEI's request for voter information: pic.twitter.com/46vECNBtkf — Connie Lawson (@SecretaryLawson) June 30, 2017

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is the vice chairman of Trump's Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, which is being led by Pence.

When asked about Lawson's decision to withhold some information from the commission, a Pence spokesman said the commission is only seeking information that is "publicly available according to state law."

Kobach announced Wednesday he would ask all 50 states to provide publicly available voter roll data, including names, addresses, birthdates, political affiliation, voting history and the last four digits of Social Security numbers.

The request resulted in blowback from election officials in several states, who see the request as an effort to validate Trump's unsupported claim that millions of fraudulent votes were cast in the 2016 election.

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Lawson's office did not immediately respond to questions about whether she supported Kobach's request.

IndyStar reached out to Kobach but did not immediately receive a response.

In his letter to state election officials, Kobach said the data would be housed on a secure server and would allow the commission to "fully analyze vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting."

But election officials in some states — including the nation's most populous — said they will not comply with the request.

"I will not provide sensitive voter information to a commission that has already inaccurately passed judgment that millions of Californians voted illegally," California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Thursday in a statement. "California's participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud made by the President, the Vice President, and Mr. Kobach."

Indiana already participates in a voter roll data sharing program with more than two dozen other states. But that program, which is administered by Kobach, has been criticized for disproportionately flagging minorities and resulting in few prosecutions.

Lawson is positioned to play a key role in shaping policy on such issues. She was appointed to Trump's commission in May and will host secretaries of state from across the nation in Indianapolis next week for a meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State.

As a state lawmaker, Lawson championed a bill in 2005 that made Indiana's voter ID requirements among the strictest in the nation.

She also attracted headlines in September when she sent a letter warning county election officials about a shadowy voter registration group with Democratic ties. At the time, the group accused Lawson of playing politics and suppressing the vote.

Earlier this month, though, Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry — a Democrat — charged the group and 12 of its employees with felony voter registration fraud.

State police have said canvassers for the group created fraudulent voter registration forms to meet daily quotas. In some cases, canvassers paid vagrants with cigarettes to fill out multiple registrations. In another case, a canvasser used a phone book to fill out registrations for people who turned out to be dead, police said.

Curry, however, has emphasized that officials were not aware of any evidence that fraudulent ballots were actually cast in the 2016 election.

Call IndyStar reporter Tony Cook at (317) 444-6081. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.

Call IndyStar reporter Kaitlin L. Lange at (812) 549-1429. Follow her on Twitter: @kaitlin_lange.