MALDEF STATEMENT ON EXECUTIVE ORDER TO DISBAND FAKE WHITE HOUSE COMMISSION ON NON-EXISTENT VOTER FRAUD

MALDEF

January 3, 2018

(Los Angeles, CA) - Please attribute the following statement on the Trump executive order disbanding a commission formed to investigate non-existent voter fraud to Thomas A. Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF (Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund):

"Donald Trump's commission to investigate non-existent widespread voter fraud suffered an appropriately ignominious demise today. Established – long after it was originally threatened – as a self-evident and futile attempt at partial vindication following Trump’s drubbing in the popular vote by Secretary Clinton, the commission was doomed from the start. Led by chief snipe hunters Mike Pence and Kris Kobach, the commission should have been named the Roswell/Area 51 Commission because it set out to prove something – widespread voter fraud – as imaginary and unlikely as extraterrestrial visits to Earth. Coincidentally, the commission now disappears in the dust of history just as Area 51 disappeared in the dust of the desert. Yet, we should be well aware that the Trump administration still seeks an oasis to satisfy an unquenched thirst for vindication following a truly embarrassing popular-vote defeat. The administration will attempt to suppress the votes of naturalized citizens, the poor, and racial minorities through innuendo-infused intimidation and other harassing tactics. Even after today’s welcome executive order ending the commission, vigilance remains the price of ensuring access to the ballot for all eligible persons."

Founded in 1968, MALDEF is the nation's leading Latino legal civil rights organization. Often described as the "Latino Legal Voice for Civil Rights in America" MALDEF promotes social change through advocacy, communications, community education, and litigation in the areas of education, employment, immigrant rights, and political access. For more information on MALDEF, please visit: www.maldef.org.