Former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, founder of "Let America Vote" speaks to protesters gathered outside Saint Anselm College in Manchester, N.H., on Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017. Kander and others were protesting a meeting of the Trump administration's commission on voter fraud, which they argue is designed to suppress voting. (AP Photo/Holly Ramer)
Republished September 12, 2017 - 2:58 PM
Original Publication Date September 12, 2017 - 6:26 AM
MANCHESTER, N.H. - The Latest on President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission meeting in New Hampshire (all times local):
5:55 p.m.
The vice chairman of President Donald Trump's commission on election fraud says there's a "high possibility" the panel will make no recommendations when it finishes its work.
Republican Kris Kobach's comments came amid growing criticism from Democrats that the commission is bent on encouraging voter suppression. The commission met in New Hampshire on Tuesday.
The Kansas secretary of state told reporters after the meeting that such claims are "bizarre" because they assume the commission can perform a "Jedi mind trick" on state legislatures to make them adopt its recommendations. Kobach also said it's possible the commission will make no recommendations and just tell states "here's the data."
Trump created the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity in May to investigate his unsubstantiated claims that millions of people voted illegally in 2016.
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2:30 p.m.
The vice chairman of President Donald Trump's election integrity commission says he's now less certain that fraudulent out-of-state voters led to a Democrat's victory in a U.S. Senate race in New Hampshire.
Republican Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach paused Tuesday's commission meeting to clarify his recent comments on statistics about people who registered to vote in New Hampshire using out-of-state driver's licenses. Kobach wrote last week that the statistics were proof that people enter the state to cast fraudulent votes and that it "appears" they led to Maggie Hassan's win.
On Tuesday, Kobach acknowledged that New Hampshire allows college students and others to vote in the state without getting driver's licenses if they consider the state their domicile. He said "appears" might have been the wrong word.
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10:25 a.m.
A meeting of President Donald Trump's commission on election fraud opened with New Hampshire Secretary of State Bill Gardner defending his role and the panel's existence.
Gardner has faced calls to resign from the commission since its vice chairman, Republican Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, alleged last week that thousands voted illegally in New Hampshire because they registered using out-of-state licenses, though state law allows college students and others to do so.
As the meeting got underway Tuesday, Kobach said he will address that issue further, as will Gardner.
The Democratic Gardner says New Hampshire citizens have a proud tradition of civic participation, and he isn't about to turn away from that now.
Gardner says the group's ability to reach consensus is threatened by the partisan reaction it has evoked.
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9:45 a.m.
California's secretary of state says the meeting of President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission is just the latest insult in an ongoing quest to suppress voting rights.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is meeting Tuesday in New Hampshire and has spurred controversy since it was established in May. Critics say the Republican president is using the commission to support his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud that cost him the popular vote during the 2016 election.
Democratic California Secretary of State Alex Padilla says he's disappointed but not surprised that the panel won't hear any testimony from women or people of colour.
A spokesman for the commission didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
Democrat Hillary Clinton got more than 60 per cent of the vote in California.
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9:15 a.m.
Protesters holding "Vote Free or Die" signs are greeting members of President Donald Trump's commission on voter fraud in New Hampshire.
The signs are a riff on New Hampshire's "Live Free or Die" motto, and protesters from the New Hampshire Campaign for Voting Rights say the commission is a sham designed to promote voter suppression.
The panel is holding its second meeting Tuesday at Saint Anselm College to investigate the Republican president's unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud in the 2016 elections.
Joining the protesters was former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander, a Democrat and founder of Let America Vote. He says the commission was created to substantiate the biggest lie ever told by a sitting president and should be dismantled.
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12:35 a.m.
A commission created by President Donald Trump to investigate his allegations of voter fraud is scheduled to meet in New Hampshire.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has spurred controversy since it was established in May. Critics say the Republican president is using the commission to support his unsubstantiated claims of widespread voter fraud that cost him the popular vote during the 2016 election.
There have been isolated cases of voter fraud in the U.S. But there's no evidence of it being a widespread problem, as Trump suggests.
The New Hampshire chapters of the American Civil Liberties Union and the NAACP say they plan to call for the commission's dismantling. Tuesday's meeting is the commission's second but its first outside Washington, D.C.
The vice chairman of the commission is Republican Kris Kobach, who's Kansas' secretary of state.
News from © The Associated Press, 2017