Election Officials Critique Trump’s Recent Claims

By Marshall Cohen, Gabe Cohen, CNN

Boston (CNN) – Just four days after President Donald Trump claimed his administration found “shocking vulnerabilities in our election infrastructure,” numerous state election officials from across the nation convened in Boston.

However, they weren’t there for an urgent meeting to address this alleged crisis, even with midterm elections just 15 weeks away.

Instead, these officials from 37 states participated in a pre-planned professional conference that maintained a notably routine atmosphere. In fact, Trump’s primetime speech hardly came up at all.

In discussions with CNN, over a dozen election officials from both parties mentioned that Trump’s address didn’t present much new evidence. Several GOP officials even laughed off his claims, pointing out the data released by the administration to support its argument about non-citizens voting in U. S. elections.

Matt Crane, a Republican leading the Colorado County Clerks Association, said his group chat with colleagues was filled with “a lot of laughing emojis, and like, ‘you got to be kidding me?’ that this was all it was.”

A GOP official from a state Trump won three times also criticized the speech which included intelligence reports that Trump labeled as an “unprecedented election security nightmare” due to threats from China and Venezuela. (Trump didn’t note that those reports also clarified neither country interfered with U. S. election results.)

“I read the documents,” the official told CNN on condition of anonymity. “It was old. I’ve already seen this stuff. It wasn’t new to me. We already had most of this information.”

Democratic leaders and election experts have condemned Trump for what they believe is an escalation of his attacks on the voting process, accusing him of laying groundwork to justify any potential GOP losses this November.

Many Republicans managing elections have been more cautious in their public statements – broadly supporting Trump’s aim of cleaning up voter rolls and preventing illegal voting while defending their performance in their states.

Yet privately, many criticize what Trump is doing.

“We all know elections aren’t rigged, but we have to keep our heads down and do our jobs,” one Republican election official told CNN on condition of anonymity because they didn’t want to upset the Trump administration.

Pushing back on Trump’s data

Last Thursday’s speech from the president and a follow-up presentation by the Department of Homeland Security highlighted several states reportedly having alarmingly high numbers of non-citizens on voter rolls.

Trump has long propagated false claims suggesting thousands or possibly millions of undocumented immigrants are voting in U. S. elections. While isolated incidents do occur, comprehensive studies by both right-leaning and left-leaning think tanks have concluded that it happens on a very small scale.

Still, the administration stated it reviewed public data and found hundreds of thousands of non-citizens listed in Pennsylvania and Nevada as well as California and New Jersey-states known for their Democratic leanings. Some officials within those states are calling for greater transparency regarding how DHS reached those figures.

Even some red states that voluntarily shared their voter lists with the Trump administration were included in his latest push. The administration claimed over 28,000 non-citizens had been identified in rolls managed by GOP election officials.

The DHS citizenship database being utilized for reviewing voter rolls-known as SAVE or Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements-has a record of exaggerating non-citizen registration numbers. DHS itself admits that states using this system voluntarily for maintaining voter rolls must further investigate any matches found.

Sam Hayes, executive director for North Carolina’s State Board of Elections who has vigorously supported several initiatives led by Trump regarding elections said his team wouldn’t blindly accept what the administration reported. He noted that despite DHS claiming there were 1,599 non-citizens registered in North Carolina; they would conduct their own verification which takes time involving reaching out to registrants.

“There’s nothing we accept at face value and just start removing folks” from voter rolls,” Hayes told CNN. “We’ve got to make our own independent assessment of this… We still have to do due diligence on our end.”

Hayes also dampened Trump’s call for rapid responses saying: “It’s going to be tough to get it done by the midterms but we’re working toward that goal.”

Georgia election officials informed CNN they believe claims made by the administration concerning non-citizens among their registrants seem inflated; out of 2,549 flagged registrants cited by DHS only around 20 actually cast ballots within Georgia.

Despite doubts about White House data raised by both parties’ officials underscored how serious they take their responsibility ensuring non-citizens don’t appear on voter lists.

New Jersey’s governor announced Tuesday that a software glitch at state Motor Vehicle Commission unintentionally added approximately 6,600 non-citizens onto voter rolls where around 400 ended up casting improper votes during recent elections.

This unexpected announcement coming from a Democratic governor within such a liberal stronghold quickly made headlines prompting “told-you-so” reactions from Trump’s camp.

Pushing Back Against Mullin’s Threats

At another press conference Friday , Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin issued warnings about fines or even possible “prison time” facing election officials who fail to comply with demands surrounding voter rolls along with other electoral changes requested by Trump’s administration.

Election representatives spoke with CNN noting they take these warnings seriously , especially after witnessing various political opponents being indicted during Trump’s presidency. But simultaneously , they conveyed their focus remains dedicated towards performing their duties.

“There is concern about could I be made into an example?” remarked Crane who leads Colorado’s bipartisan association representing clerks overseeing elections. “However , overall it’s kind-of faded into background noise now.”

A Democratic administrator responsible for overseeing elections within battleground areas indicated via anonymity he received worried phone calls following Mullin ‘ s remarks regarding potential prosecution against electoral staff members.

Earlier last month , similar warning letters had been dispatched across all fifty states courtesy Justice Department ; Idaho ’s Republican attorney general among those voicing opposition rebuking DOJ through sharp response letter claiming insinuations implying criminal breaches concerning federal electoral laws lacked merit.

“Stop threatening your friends here in Idaho,” wrote James Craig top attorney working alongside Idaho ’ s AG office.

Another GOP official representing yet another state expressed unease stating even fellow officers situated inside red territories felt uncertain due unpredictability exhibited throughout Trumps governance style.

“It’s incredibly troubling when discussions arise like these without knowing what actions may follow,” disclosed one representative.

The-CNN-Wire
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