Politics
11:59, 25-Jul-2017
US judge allows Trump election commission to seek voting data
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A US federal judge ruled on Monday that President Donald Trump's commission may request voter roll data from US states to investigate voter fraud.
The lawsuit was filed by the watchdog group the Electronic Privacy Information Center (EPIC) on the grounds of privacy infringement. The data requested include names, the last four digits of Social Security numbers, addresses, birth dates, political affiliation, felony convictions and voting histories.
The judge said as the commission’s collection of data was not technically an action by a government agency, the access was not bound by laws that govern what such entities can do. However, she pointed out that the commission is an advisory body with no legal authority to compel states to hand over the data.
President Trump, who set up the commission by executive order on May 12, has charged without evidence that millions voted unlawfully in the November election.