On Thursday, July 13, the vice-chair of Trump's Commission on Voter Integrity, KS Kris Kobach, published a list of comments that had been emailed to the commission in June and July. All 112 pages were posted on the commission website where they can be seen by the public both nationally and internationally.
The majority of the remarks were about anger against Trump's accusations of alleged voter fraud and the actions of the commission. A July 16 Yahoo News story also said that during the email dump, the White House published highly personal information such as addresses and phone numbers.
The majority of those who emailed comments to the commission had asked for their personal information to be excluded from any public posting. Many believe that the White House was retaliating against both voters railing against the commission and against states refusing to give up all information they requested.
Why Kobach exposed the personal information in emails sent to the commission
Kobach says that those who emailed comments or complaints to the commission website knew there was the likelihood that their emails and the information contained therein might not remain private. Pence further justified the commission's current and prior actions by saying the public wants to know what the commission is doing to guarantee and maintain the integrity of the election system.
Following Kobach's assertions, VOX reported that no one knows for sure if the commission's website said anything about releasing the complete emails to the public prior to July 13 - or later. It was hinted that the commission may be trying to cover its tracks. A large number of responders reported they sent emails prior to the July 13 announcement while others emailed their comments directly to individual commission members and therefore would have known nothing about the possibility of their emails being posted.
The gist of the complaints relate to concerns of voter's privacy and protection
The threat of exposing an anonymous person’s identity has been regarded as a form of harassment and intimidation for decades. Some of the concerns listed in the emails touched on that sentiment while other's charged that the release of voter data would make identity theft by hackers worse.
Some comments even went so far as to encapsulate the conviction that voter information would give the government too much control over their lives and that they would be losing more privacy rights.
The San Diego Tribune published a list of the wildest comments in their July 14 edition, drawing more unwarranted attention to the emails and the release of personal information. ” One response to this latest action by the Commission has been for tens of thousands of voters to either cancel their registrations or contemplate doing so out of fear of what the Trump Administration would do with their personal information. For others canceling their registration is being done to publically defy the commission and Trump, many without realizing this won't do any good as the information requested covers 2006-2016.
Events and actions related to Trump's commission
The list of voter comments can be seen on the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity Website along with a calendar of events related to the commission's activities dating back to May 11. In order to stay abreast of what Trump and the Commission's future plans are or what is already in the works, the public can livestream the ceremonial swearing in of Commission members on July 19. At that time Trump will also talk about what the commissions next steps will be, its objectives, and the reasoning behind publicizing the entire content of the emails sent to the commission.
