Reactions to Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity: Part 1

This post is the first in a series, highlighting the left's odd reactions to President Trump's announcement yesterday, as part of the broader and pervasive effort to resist Trump.  Today, we focus on prominent Democrat elected officials.

Here is what the commission, the recommendations of which will have no binding authority, has been charged with studying:

The Commission shall, consistent with applicable law, study the registration and voting processes used in Federal elections.  The Commission shall be solely advisory and shall submit a report to the President that identifies the following: 

(a)  those laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies, and practices that enhance the American people's confidence in the integrity of the voting processes used in Federal elections; 

(b)  those laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies, and practices that undermine the American people's confidence in the integrity of the voting processes used in Federal elections; and 

(c)  those vulnerabilities in voting systems and practices used for Federal elections that could lead to improper voter registrations and improper voting, including fraudulent voter registrations and fraudulent voting. 

But apparently, studying what increases and decreases public confidence in election results and where there are vulnerabilities in the system is deeply offensive to Democrats, who see any effort to improve the integrity of election results as "voter suppression":

Kentucky Secretary of State Alison Lundergan Grimes: While cloaked as an effort to protect the integrity of our elections, President Trump's voter fraud commission will be anything but. The cloak hiding its real mission is thin; indeed, it will no doubt serve as a tool to further real and serious Republican attacks on American voting rights and leave eligible voters disenfranchised.

Vermont Senator Patrick Leahy: This misbegotten Commission sadly is yet another malicious effort to undermine the voting rights of millions of Americans across the country.  The integrity of our elections is a foundational issue, but any commission led by an extremist like Kris Kobach – a ‘birther’ whose attempts to restrict voting rights have repeatedly been struck down in federal court – has zero credibility.  

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren: Today [Trump] signed an order launching a "Vote Fraud Commission," but it really should be called a "Vote Intimidation Commission." [Trump] picked Kris Kobach – architect of some of the most racist & anti-voter state laws – to lead this new conspiracy crusade. The GOP spent [years] gutting voting rights & suppressing black & Latino votes. We can’t allow [Trump] to turn the clocks back more. 

Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi: The President’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission is purpose-built to encourage and enable voter suppression. . . . The President’s ‘Election Integrity’ Commission is clearly intended to accelerate the vile voter suppression efforts in states across the nation.The integrity of our elections has been undermined because of the disenfranchisement of American citizens, not the bigoted delusions of widespread voter fraud.  If President Trump cannot believe that the majority of Americans voted against him, he should review his own conduct instead of trying to steal the vote from millions of citizens.

According to Democrats, the only threats to the integrity of our elections we should be concerned about are Republicans, Russian hacking (though we should be more concerned about Obama administration hacking), and Republican efforts to protect the integrity of our elections.  I wish that were sarcasm, but according to Democrats' statements yesterday, that is what they actually believe.  Unfortunately for Democrats, the evidence of vote fraud and its effect on elections, and public confidence in election results, already exists, and the commission will likely uncover more.