WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday shut down a presidential commission charged with looking into allegations of electoral fraud during the 2016 election, after many states refused to provide it with data, the White House said.

“Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today I signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and have asked the Department of Homeland Security to review these issues and determine next courses of action,” Trump said in a statement.

The panel, headed by Vice President Mike Pence, was established in May last year to look into voter fraud but met with resistance from many states.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., noted in July that the commission was an advisory body that lacked legal authority to compel states to hand over data.

Trump, a Republican, has said that fraud may have accounted for his loss nationwide in the popular vote to Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million votes.

Most state officials who oversee elections and election law experts say that voter fraud is rare in the United States.

(Corrects month in paragraph four) </s> US President Donald Trump has dissolved a controversial commission he had set up to investigate illegal voting in the 2016 election, attributing the move to various states' refusal to participate in the board.

Trump had established the commission in May after claiming without evidence that massive voter fraud had cost him the popular vote in the presidential election, and he appointed Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to lead the panel.

His rival Hillary Clinton won three million more votes overall than Trump in results that were certified by the Federal Election Commission.

In a statement, White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Trump had decided to dissolve the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity "rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense".

"Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to provide the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry," Sanders said.

"Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today President Donald J Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action," Sanders said.

From the start, Trumps voter fraud commission was hobbled by the refusal of most states to share voters’ information and beset by legal challenges — including one filed by a commission member, Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap. State election officials rejected requests for their voter rolls as invasions of privacy.

Senator Chuck, Senate Minority Leader, said that the commission never had anything to do with election integrity. </s> WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is disbanding his controversial voter fraud commission amid infighting, lawsuits and state officials’ refusal to co-operate.

Trump convened the commission to investigate the 2016 presidential election, after alleging repeatedly and without evidence that voting fraud cost him the popular vote. Trump won the Electoral College.

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.

“Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action,” White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement Wednesday.

READ MORE: Donald Trump launches commission to investigate unfounded claims of voter fraud

Critics saw the commission as 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 repeatedly alleged, without evidence, that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in the 2016 election, delivering the popular vote to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Clinton received more than 2.8 million more votes than Trump nationwide.

While there have been isolated cases of voter fraud in the U.S., past studies have found it to be exceptionally rare.

Critics also viewed the commission as part of an attempt to distract from the ongoing investigations into Russian election meddling and potential collusion between Moscow and Trump campaign aides. The intelligence community concluded that the Russian government mounted a campaign to help Trump win, hacking email accounts and spreading false stories.

READ MORE: 52 per cent of Republicans would support postponing the 2020 election because of voter fraud: poll

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a conservative Republican and 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.

WATCH: In February, President Donald Trump stood by his statements of alleged voter fraud.

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.”

Three Democratic senators – Michael Bennet of Colorado, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota – had also asked the U.S. Government Accountability Office to investigate the commission, which it agreed to do in October.

Kobach said he intends to work closely with DHS and the White House and expects the bulk of the DHS investigation to be done by midsummer.

More than a dozen states, as well as the District of Columbia, had rebuffed the commission’s request for voter data, citing privacy concerns and a fear that complying would legitimize the idea that voter fraud is widespread.

READ MORE: ‘This battle is not over’: Roy Moore still refusing to concede Alabama Senate race

While there have been isolated cases of people voting illegally, and many voter rolls contain outdated data, there is no evidence voter fraud is a widespread problem in the United States or has affected election results.

A study by a Loyola Law School professor found that out of 1 billion votes cast in all American elections between 2000 and 2014, there were only 31 known cases of impersonation fraud.

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.

READ MORE: Republican Jeff Flake warns Trump he could face GOP challenge for 2020 nomination

“It is no surprise that a commission founded on a lie of widespread voter fraud proved to be a fraud itself,” said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, who had refused to comply with the commission’s request for voter data. “No taxpayer dollars should have been wasted on Mr. Trump’s voter suppression crusade.”

Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, accused the commission of engaging in “a wild-goose chase for voter fraud, demonizing the very American voters whom we should all be helping to participate – with the not-so-secret goal of making voting harder with unnecessary barriers.

“President Trump has tried and failed to spread his own fake news about voter fraud,” Ho said. </s> WASHINGTON, July 1 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump lashed out on Saturday at the growing number of states refusing to give voters' names, addresses and sensitive personal information to a commission he created to investigate alleged voter fraud.

"Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL. What are they trying to hide?" Trump said on Twitter.

More than 20 states have declined the requests, saying they are unnecessary and violated privacy, according to statements from election officials and media reports.

"This commission was formed to try to find basis for the lie that President Trump put forward that has no foundation," Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes told Reuters previously in an interview.

Trump's Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity sent a letter to all 50 states on Wednesday asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of social security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliation, felony convictions and voting histories.

Republican Trump has made unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. He established the panel by executive order in May despite evidence that voter fraud was not widespread.

The request from commission Vice Chairman Kris Kobach caused a backlash in states including Virginia, Kentucky, California, New York and Massachusetts, where election officials said they would not provide all the data.

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann had said in a statement that he did not see the letter but would rebuff the commission.

"They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico and Mississippi is a great state to launch from," he said. (Reporting by Joel Schectman and Chris Kenning; Editing by Bernard Orr) </s> President Donald Trump is dissolving the voter fraud commission which was founded to investigate Trump’s baseless claim that millions of illegal voters cost him the popular vote after states refused to turn over sensitive voter information to the commission.

On Wednesday, the White House announced that Trump is dissolving his voter fraud commission after states failed to hand over requested voter information. The order brought an abrupt end to the controversial commission her created last May 2017, The Hill reported.

The U.S. president is blaming the lack of substantial evidence according to the statement issued by the White House, saying, “Despite substantial evidence of voter fraud, many states have refused to provide the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity with basic information relevant to its inquiry.”

“Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today I signed an executive order to dissolve the Commission, and have asked the Department of Homeland Security to review these issues and determine next courses of action,” Trump added.

Trump created the bipartisan commission by executive order in May to investigate the widespread voter fraud in the 2016 election. He has repeatedly complained about this vulgar accusation that thousands of people voted illegally in the 2016 election depriving him the opportunity to win the popular vote. However, it was later on that the public learned that the then-Candidate Trump has no evidence to support his claims.

According to ForexTV, critics called his baseless rants, which basically became the central topic of most of his campaign, a tool to restrict voting rights. If this accusation is proven to be truthful, then such tactic cemented his place in the 2016 Presidential Elections.

In addition, some leading Republicans figures, including Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), also urged Trump last year to drop his claims of widespread fraud.

The announcement of the panels disbandment created a massive media frenzy in the White House which is currently on the edge of the rope trying to pull back their hold on former Trump strategist Steve Bannon who threw explosive criticism of the president and the first family in his new book.

Moreover, the announcement also came after Trump’s openly mocked North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un on Twitter regarding the size of his “nuclear button.” The tweet erupted to a collective fear of Pyongyang’s reaction to which the U.S. is currently locked in a deadly conflict that could lead to another nuclear war. </s> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he would seek an investigation into what he believes was voter fraud in last November’s election, despite an overwhelming consensus among state officials, election experts, and politicians that it is rare in the United States.

Voters cast their ballots at a polling station set up in a garage during the U.S. presidential election, near Fernald, Iowa, U.S., November 8, 2016. REUTERS/Scott Morgan

The announcement drew rebukes from both Republicans and Democrats who said the Republican president’s unsubstantiated claims of large-scale fraud could undermine voting rights efforts as well as confidence in the new U.S. chief executive.

In the Nov. 8 election, Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton by nearly 3 million ballots. Irked by that large figure, he has blamed voter fraud without citing evidence.

“I will be asking for a major investigation into VOTER FRAUD, including those registered to vote in two states, those who are illegal and....even, those registered to vote who are dead (and many for a long time),” Trump said on Twitter.

“Depending on results, we will strengthen up voting procedures!”

In an interview with ABC News, Trump said none of the illegal votes would have been cast for him. “They would all be for the other side,” he said.

White House press secretary Sean Spicer later told a news briefing that the probe would not focus on only the 2016 election.

Three Democratic congressmen demanded proof of such fraud and sent a letter to election officials and attorneys general in all 50 U.S. states seeking examples of cases of fraud in November’s vote.

Many of the state officials did not need prompting with election officers in several states rejecting Trump’s claims immediately.

“Easy to vote, hard to cheat #Ohio,” Ohio’s Republican secretary of state, Jon Husted, said in a Twitter post rebutting Trump’s claim that 3 million to 5 million illegal immigrants voted against him.

“That’s impossible,” Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla of California said on CNN.

There is no history of widespread voter fraud in U.S. elections. Leading Republicans, including the top Republican in Congress, House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan, have rejected the claims.

Ryan, however, said in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC that if Trump believes there is widespread fraud “the right thing is to get an investigation to get the facts.”

Trump won the state-by-state Electoral College tally that decides the presidency, but the historic popular vote gap and allegations of Russian meddling in the election on his behalf have led some to say his victory was not legitimate.

NO EVIDENCE

Trump’s announcement that he will seek an investigation appeared to be prompted by a White House news briefing on Tuesday in which Spicer confirmed that the president continued to believe millions of illegal immigrants voted in the election.

Spicer initially said there was no investigation planned but changed tack after persistent questioning, saying “maybe we will ... anything is possible.”

Federal investigations of voter fraud are rare. A five-year probe initiated by Republican President George W. Bush’s administration turned up no evidence of voter fraud and ended in resignations and more investigations for the Department of Justice which enforces federal voting rights laws.

“Republicans have used claims of widespread voter fraud to discriminate and restrict access to the ballot box for years,” said Democratic U.S. Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina.

Trump’s attorney general nominee, Republican Senator Jeff Sessions, has been criticized for his record on voting rights and race relations. A voter fraud case he prosecuted as a U.S. attorney in his home state of Alabama helped derail his confirmation as a federal judge in 1986.

Voting rights experts at New York University’s Brennan Center for Justice urged Sessions to heed lessons of the past.

“In 2007, the Justice Department was upended by scandal because it had pursued a partisan agenda on voting, under the guise of rooting out suspected ‘voter fraud,’” Adam Gitlin and Wendy Weiser wrote in a Jan. 7 report for the center.

“DOJ political leadership fired seven well-respected U.S. attorneys, dismissing some top Republican prosecutors because they had refused to prosecute non-existent voter fraud,” they wrote.

The firings scandal prompted the resignation of the attorney general, Alberto Gonzales, they said.

Slideshow (3 Images)

Others expressed concern that Trump’s repetition of falsehoods, including the size of inauguration crowds as well as voter fraud, could undermine public confidence.

U.S. Representative Adam Schiff, the top Democrat on the House intelligence committee, said Trump will need to be believed when he makes the case about a foreign threat and cannot reveal the intelligence behind it.

“Our new president is doing deep damage to himself and to our country,” Schiff said on Wednesday at the Center for American Progress think tank. </s> SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — President Donald Trump’s commission investigating alleged voter fraud in the 2016 elections has asked states for a list of the names, party affiliations, addresses and voting histories of all voters, if state law allows it to be public.

A Wednesday letter from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity gives secretaries of state about two weeks to provide about a dozen points of voter data. That also would include dates of birth, the last four digits of voters’ Social Security numbers and any information about felony convictions and military status.

Some Democratic officials refused to comply, saying the request invades privacy and is based on false claims of fraud.

Trump lost the popular vote to Democrat Hillary Clinton but has alleged, without evidence, that 3 to 5 million people voted illegally. In addition to the voter information, the letter asks state officials for suggestions on improving election integrity and to share any evidence of fraud and election-related crimes in their states.

The data will help the commission “fully analyze vulnerabilities and issues related to voter registration and voting,” vice chairman and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach wrote.

On Thursday, Virginia’s governor and the secretaries of state in California and Kentucky, all Democrats, responded that they will not share the information.

The California and Virginia officials said attention would be better spent upgrading aging voting systems or focusing on Russia’s alleged election meddling. Trump has alleged “serious voter fraud” in both states.

“California’s participation would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud,” Democratic Secretary of State Alex Padilla said in a statement.

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe said there is no evidence of voter fraud in the state.

“At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump’s alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression,” he said in a statement.

Trump created the commission through an executive order in May.

The panel is seeking “public information and publicly available data” from every state and the District of Columbia, said Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence, who is chairing the commission. Lotter described the intent of the request as “fact-finding” and said there were no objections to it by anyone on the 10-member commission, which includes four Democrats.

Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon, a Democrat, said he is not sure whether he will share the data because of privacy concerns. Vermont’s top election official, Democrat Jim Condos, said it goes beyond what the state can publicly disclose.

In Missouri, Republican Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said he is happy to “offer our support in the collective effort to enhance the American people’s confidence in the integrity of the system.” Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams, a Republican, said he’ll provide what state law allows. </s> (WASHINGTON) — President Donald Trump has signed an executive order disbanding his voter fraud commission.

A White House statement is blaming the decision on numerous states that have refused to provide voter information to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders says that, “Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense,” Trump has signed an order to dissolve the commission and asked the Department of Homeland Security to determine the administration’s next steps.

Critics saw the commission as part of a conservative campaign to strip minority voters and poor people from the voter rolls, and to justify unfounded claims made by Trump that voter fraud cost him the popular vote in 2016.

Past studies have found voter fraud to be exceptionally rare. </s> President Donald Trump lashed out on Saturday at the growing number of states refusing to give voters' names, addresses and sensitive personal information to a commission he created to investigate alleged voter fraud.

"Numerous states are refusing to give information to the very distinguished VOTER FRAUD PANEL," he wrote on Twitter. "What are they trying to hide?"

More than 20 states, including Virginia, Kentucky, California, New York and Massachusetts, have declined to provide some or all of the information, saying it was unnecessary and violated privacy.

"This commission was formed to try to find basis for the lie that President Trump put forward that has no foundation," Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes told Reuters previously in an interview.

The Republican president has made unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally for his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, in last November's election.

Trump's Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, created in May, sent a letter to 50 states asking them to turn over voter information including names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliations, felony convictions and voting histories.

The request from commission Vice Chairman Kris Kobach has caused a backlash from state election officials.

Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said in a statement on Friday that while certain voter information is available to the public, the media, and any other person who requests the information, "the information is restricted to name, address and congressional district assignment."

Mississippi Secretary of State Delbert Hosemann had said in a statement that he did not see the letter but would rebuff the commission.

"They can go jump in the Gulf of Mexico, and Mississippi is a great state to launch from," he said.

Trump won the White House through victory in the Electoral College, which tallies wins in states, but he lost the popular vote to Clinton by some 3 million votes. He has claimed he would have won the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud.

Civil rights activists say the commission will encourage voter suppression by justifying new barriers to voting, such as requiring identity cards to vote.
United States President Donald Trump announces that he intends to seek an investigation into possible voter fraud from last year's election.