The White House on Thursday made public a trove of emails it received from voters offering comment on its Election Integrity Commission. The commission drew widespread criticism when it emerged into public view by asking for personal information, including addresses, partial social security numbers and party affiliation, on every voter in the country.

It further outraged voters by planning to post that information publicly.

Voters directed that outrage toward the Trump White House and the voter commission, often using profanity-laced language in the 112 pages of emails released this week.

“You will open up the entire voting population to a massive amount of fraud if this data is in any way released,” one voter wrote.

“Many people will get their identity stolen, which will harm the economy,” wrote another.

“I respectfully request, as an American-born citizen legally eligible to vote for two decades, that you leave my voter data and history alone, do not publish it, and do nothing with it,” said another.

Unfortunately for these voters and others who wrote in, the Trump administration did not redact any of their personal information from the emails before releasing them to the public. In some cases, the emails contain not only names, but email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and places of employment of people worried about such information being made available to the public.

The Washington Post is not publishing any of this information because in most cases it does not appear that the individuals were aware their comments would be shared by the White House. The emails were sent to the Election Integrity Commissions' email address that the administration asked U.S. secretaries of state to send data files to.

“This request is very concerning,” wrote one. “The federal government is attempting to get the name, address, birth date, political party, and social security number of every voter in the country.” That email, published by the White House, contained the sender's name and home address.

“DO NOT RELEASE ANY OF MY VOTER DATA PERIOD,” wrote one voter whose name and email address was published by the White House.

“Beefed up the security on this email address yet?” asked another voter whose name and email address were also published by the White House.

“The request for private voter information is offensive,” wrote one voter whose name, home address and email address were published by the White House.

“I removed my name from voter rolls. And I'm a Republican!” wrote one voter whose name was published by the White House.

Federal agencies often solicit and release public comments on proposed legislation. Regulations.gov, the federal government's clearing house for public comments, includes a detailed set of guidelines explaining how to submit comments, what type of personal information is collected and how that information may be used.

“Some agencies may require that you include personal information, such as your name and email address, on the comment form,” the website explains. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance, warns commenters to “submit only information that you wish to make available publicly.”

Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission tells commenters that “published comments include the commenter’s last name and state/country as well as the entire text of the comment. Please do not include any sensitive or confidential information.”

The White House does not appear to have issued any such public guidelines or warnings before many of the emails were sent.

"These are public comments, similar to individuals appearing before commission to make comments and providing name before making comments," said Marc Lotter, Press Secretary to Mike Pence, in an email. "The Commission’s Federal Register notice asking for public comments and its website make clear that information 'including names and contact information' sent to this email address may be released."

The Federal Register notice soliciting comments was published on July 5. The White House page was published on July 13.

Approximately half of the emails published by the White House were dated prior to July 5.

This story has been updated.</s>Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The White House yesterday released a batch of public comments sent to its Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, the committee established by Donald Trump with the explicit purpose of examining long-debunked claims of voter fraud, and the implicit purpose of disenfranchising large swaths of the American voting population. To further this aim, commission leader Kris Kobach requested detailed data from the voter rolls of every state, most of which rejected the request as baseless and an invasion of people’s privacy.

The majority of public comments released by the White House are unsparing in their criticism of Kobach and his program, though there are a few concerned citizens asking how they can help (and about half a dozen pages that are like the Republican version of Pizzagate). When you can submit a comment via email, it’s pretty easy to write, well, anything. Here are some of the messages that caught our eye.

Beau, thank you for coming clean.

Do NOT click this link.

These people have a suggestion.

Not sure if these two are being sarcastic.

Can someone just let these guys know that their emails are going through?

Bud, keeping it simple.

Victor, your hopes seem to be working out.

“You know what you can do with those ears …”</s>The disclosure came as the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity reviews public comments it received after Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), the commission’s vice chair, requested publicly available voter data from all 50 states. There was bipartisan concern about privacy after the request, and almost every state said it could not provide all of the information Kobach was seeking.

Some of the public comments the White House posted online about the request Thursday contain unredacted personal information about the senders, including in some cases addresses and phone numbers.

The White House did not seem to have a legal obligation to redact the names, and different federal agencies vary in what information they redact when they release public comments, said Bob Gellman, a privacy consultant who worked on Freedom of Information Act issues on Capitol Hill for two decades. A notice published July 5 in the Federal Register inviting the comments also included notification that the name and contact information of anyone who submitted a comment may be made public.

“These are public comments, similar to individuals appearing before [a] commission to make comments and providing name before making comments,” Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence, the commission’s chair, said in a statement. “The Commission’s Federal Register notice asking for public comments and its website make clear that information ‘including names and contact information’ sent to this email address may be released.”

Many of the comments harshly criticize Kobach and the rest of the panel ― sometimes in colorful and expletive-filled emails ― and ask the probe not to release sensitive voter information.

“Public comments are often just that. What you submit, an agency makes public,” Gellman said in an email. ”Some agencies redact personal information from comments submitted. I’ve had my address, phone, and email redacted by an agency from a public comment (even though I was warned up front that what I submitted would be made public).”

Despite those warnings, some said it was unsettling for the commission to release any kind of personal information while it pledged to depersonalize and redact any identifiable voter information. The Washington Post also noted about half of the comments the commission published were submitted before the notice inviting them was published in the Federal Register.

Chris Lu, former White House Cabinet Secretary in the Obama administration and now a senior fellow at the University of Virginia Miller Center, said the disclosure merited further investigation.

“This is either gross incompetence or a blatant attempt to intimidate those who disagree with the commission. Either way, it’s very troubling and should be investigated further,” Lu wrote in an email. He added he couldn’t recall the Obama White House releasing similar contact information.

Gellman said some federal agencies redacted personal information on public comments, but for the commission to do so would be time-consuming because there were over 30,000 public comments. People who submitted comments, he said, didn’t have to include personal information.

“When an agency gets tens of thousands of emailed comments from individuals, it can be quite a task to redact personal information (perhaps other than email addresses),” Gellman wrote.

Kobach has not been entirely consistent in his statements about the kind of voter information the commission will make public. In his initial June 28 letter to states, he said all documents provided to the committee would be made public, but he later said he only intended that to apply to non-sensitive information.</s>The White House on Thursday made public a trove of emails it received from voters offering comment on its Election Integrity Commission. The commission drew widespread criticism when it emerged into public view by asking for publicly available personal information, including addresses, partial Social Security numbers, and party affiliation, on every voter in the country.

Voters directed that anger to the White House and the voter commission, often using profanity-laced language in the emails released this week, 112 pages of them.

"You will open up the entire voting population to a massive amount of fraud if this data is in any way released," wrote one voter.

"Many people will get their identity stolen, which will harm the economy," wrote another.

[PRESIDENT TRUMP: Timeline, appointments, executive orders + guide to actions in first 100 days]

"I respectfully request, as an American-born citizen legally eligible to vote for two decades, that you leave my voter data and history alone, do not publish it, and do nothing with it," said another.

President Donald Trump's administration did not redact any of their personal information from the emails before releasing them to the public. In some cases, the emails contain not only names, but email addresses, home addresses, phone numbers and places of employment of people worried about such information being made available to the public.

The emails were sent to the address that the administration asked secretaries of state to send data files to.

"This request is very concerning," wrote one. "The federal government is attempting to get the name, address, birth date, political party, and social security number of every voter in the country." That email, published by the White House, contained the sender's name and home address.

"Do not release any of my voter data period," wrote one voter, using all caps. The White House published that voter's name and email address.

"Beefed up the security on this email address yet?" asked another voter whose name and email address were also published by the White House.

"The request for private voter information is offensive," wrote one voter whose name, home address and email address were published by the White House.

"I removed my name from voter rolls. And I'm a Republican!" wrote one voter whose name was published by the White House.

Federal agencies often solicit and release public comments on proposed legislation. Regulations.gov, the federal government's clearing house for public comments, includes a detailed set of guidelines explaining how to submit comments, what type of personal information is collected, and how that information may be used.

"Some agencies may require that you include personal information, such as your name and email address, on the comment form," the website explains. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for instance warns commenters to "submit only information that you wish to make available publicly."

Similarly, the Federal Trade Commission tells commenters that "published comments include the commenter's last name and state/country as well as the entire text of the comment. Please do not include any sensitive or confidential information."

The White House does not appear to have issued any such public guidelines or warnings prior to releasing the emails, all of which appear to have been sent to the Election Integrity Commissions' email address as listed in a letter sent to U.S. decretaries of state.

A spokesman for Vice President Mike Pence who previously responded to inquires about the voter commission did not immediately return a request for comment.

While the letter invited secretaries of state to send comments and voter data via that email address, the White House now says that "any member of the public wishing to submit written comments for the Commission's consideration may do so via email" at that address, ElectionIntegrityStaffovp.eop.gov. It warns that "the Commission may post such written comments publicly on our website, including names and contact information that are submitted."

The page that warning is contained on was published Thursday. The emails published by the White House were written between June 29 and Tuesday.</s>The White House has released unredacted emails containing the names and contact information of individuals who commented on the president’s Election Integrity Commission, exposing the identities of people explicitly opposed to the Trump administration’s demand for detailed voter rolls.

The White House began releasing comments it received concerning the election commission on Thursday this week, and by Saturday had published several thousand pages worth of emails sent by individuals for and against the administration’s controversial request for voter information.

None of the emails were censored, meaning anyone who downloads them off the White House website can see each commenter’s name as it originally appeared in the election commission’s inbox.

Many of the commenters included their names, addresses and contact information in the body of the emails, the likes of which were subsequently published.

The incident is particularly ironic in light of the commenters appearing largely opposed to the commission’s request for voter rolls on account of privacy concerns.

“This request is very concerning,” wrote a commenter whose name and home address were ultimately published by the White House. “The federal government is attempting to get the name, address, birth date, political party and social security number of every voter in the country.”

“DO NOT RELEASE ANY OF MY VOTER DATA PERIOD,” wrote another whose name and email address was released by the White House.

The comments were all sent to a public email address created by the Trump administration so that elections officials of all 50 states can send voter information requested by the commission last month.

While federal agencies typically solicit and publish received comments, the White House did not initially appear to offer any indication it would release messages concerning the election commission, The Washington Post reported.

“These are public comments, similar to individuals appearing before commission to make comments and providing name before making comments,” said Marc Lotter, a press secretary for Vice President Pence, the commission’s chairman. “The Commission’s Federal Register notice asking for public comments and its website make clear that information ‘including names and contact information’ sent to this email address may be released,” he told the Post.

A disclaimer was evident on the White House website Saturday morning stating that “the Commission may post such written comments publicly on our website, including names and contact information that are submitted.”

The election commission was established in February to investigate President Trump’s unsubstantiated claim that millions of illegal ballots were cast last year in favor of his former opponent, Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. It asked each state’s secretary of state last month to supply the government with information including addresses, partial social security numbers and party affiliation for every registered voter, though dozens have since refused its request.</s>The presidential commission investigating alleged election fraud has released 112 pages of unredacted emails of public comment, raising further privacy concerns amid a legal challenge to the panel's request for sensitive voter data.

In many cases, the emails, which are largely critical and often mocking of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity led by Vice President Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, contain expletives as well as the sender's email address.

"This cavalier attitude toward the public's personal information is especially concerning given the commission's request for sensitive data on every registered voter in the country," Theresa Lee, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, said.

However, the vice president's press secretary, Marc Lotter, in an email cited by The Washington Post, compared the comments to those of "individuals appearing before commission" who would submit their names before making comments.

The public comments come in response to a controversial request to the states for voter information — including names, addresses, birthdates, partial Social Security numbers, party affiliation and felon status. More than a dozen states have refused the request outright, and many of the rest have said state law prohibits them from supplying all of the requested information.

The emails released on Thursday include more than one calling the commission a "sham" and several using the F-word.

One person whose name and email address was published by the commission wrote: "DO NOT RELEASE ANY OF MY VOTER DATA PERIOD."

Several lawsuits demanding more transparency from the commission have been filed in recent days. Among the groups filing suit for more openness are the Electronic Privacy Information Center and the ACLU.

EPIC President and Executive Director Marc Rotenberg says the commission "hasn't given much thought to the privacy implications of what they are doing," adding that this applies to both the request for voter data as well as the decision to release public comments, email addresses and all.

Although a White House blog post on Thursday soliciting written input noted that "the Commission may post such written comments publicly on our website, including names and contact information that are submitted," it is not clear whether the people who submitted comments earlier were aware that their emails in full would be made public, Rotenberg says.

"These people may well have submitted comments with the expectation that their names and addresses would be removed," he said.

It is common for federal agencies to publish comments from the public. The Securities and Exchange Commission, for example, warns on its website that: "We do not edit personal identifying information from submissions; submit only information that you wish to make available publicly."</s>Alaska will not be providing voter information to the White House for the time being.

The Trump administration’s Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has suspended its request for voter information from the Alaska Division of Elections.

The commission’s nationwide voter fraud investigation has been put on hold because of a pending lawsuit by the Electronic Privacy Information Center.

The lawsuit alleges that the commission failed to ensure that submitted data would be secure.

It also said the request for voter information is a violation of citizens’ Constitutional right to privacy.

The election integrity commission’s vice chair Kris Kobach sent a letter June 28 to Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott, requesting all publicly available voter information.

Under state law, some information — such as a voter’s driver’s license number, Social Security information and date of birth — is confidential.

The state had been preparing a response that only contained information available under the Alaska Public Records Act.

According to the governor’s deputy spokesperson Jonathon Taylor, the commission has functionally withdrawn their original request for data, and the state will not be providing any.

NBC News reports that 19 states had refused the original request for data.

Twenty-six other states, including Alaska, agreed to only provide data that was already publicly available.</s>Why Should Americans Trust the White House Voter Fraud Commission With Our Voting Data When They Won't Keep Our Personal Information Safe?

The White House voter fraud commission has published over 100 pages of emails from private citizens writing to support or oppose its request of all 50 state governors to submit its voter data files. Those emails appear on the White House's website and are not redacted. Many of them contain not only their their remarks but personal contact information, including names, addresses, telephone numbers, email address, and place of employment, according to the Washington Post.

There is absolutely no indication the White House requested permission from any of the senders to publish their information or remarks, and in a stunning move, after receiving the emails, posted a statement saying "the Commission may post such written comments publicly on our website, including names and contact information that are submitted."

That "disclaimer" was included in a White House blog post dated July 13. The file of emails the White House posted is dated June 29-July 11.</s>People’s names, email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers were posted online by the White House's election integrity commission.

The White House has attempted to be very secretive with its own information, but apparently has no issues releasing the personal data of civilians.

According to Vox, the White House recently sent out requests to each state asking for voters’ names, party IDs, addresses, and the last four digits of their Social Security numbers with plans to make this information public.

Several individuals sent emails to the White House objecting to their plan and asking the administration to rescind its request.

Fast forward to this week, and the White House has made people’s fears a reality by making those emails public through the election integrity commission’s website.

In addition to sharing the content of the emails, the administration failed to censor the citizens’ personal information. People’s names, email addresses, physical addresses, and phone numbers were included in the correspondences, which have now been plastered on the web.

Ironically, one of the users whose full name and address were exposed by the commission blatantly wrote in all caps, “DO NOT RELEASE ANY OF MY VOTER DATA, PERIOD.” Clearly, they did not oblige.

Marc Lotter, press secretary to Vice President Mike Pence, spoke out to defend the commission’s controversial stunt.

While Lotter's defense may be accurate, it still seems like a questionable coincidence that the very people who asked for their information to be kept private are the ones whose data is now exposed. It would come as no surprise if this was a deliberate slap in the face to those who chose to express their opposition to the commission's plans.</s>Washington — Connecticut voters were among those who provided public comment to the White House about the work of its voter fraud commission, and like most of those who weighed in, were highly critical of the effort.

“Your attempt to get voter information is undemocratic and un-American. Shame on you,” said a businessman from Norwalk who responded to the White House request for comment.

The “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity” chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and Kansas Secretary of State Chris Kobach, a Republican, had asked all state election officials for information about their voters — both public data and information that must be kept private under federal or state laws.

That provoked a backlash against the commission by nearly all of the nation’s voting officials, who were concerned the move violated states’ rights and was an attempt to suppress voting. The commission was created because President Donald Trump believes that millions of votes were cast illegally in November’s election, although that claim is unsubstantiated.

The White House on Monday asked states to hold off submitting the data until a federal judge decides whether the panel has done enough to protect Americans’ privacy.

Still, the public comments, some of them laced with profanities, indicate voter anger at the effort to collect voter information.

“Asking for voter identity information is contrary to everything this country and the ideals of democracy stand for,” said a commenter form Roxbury.

Another, from Vernon, said she was grateful the commission asked her for her view on “laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies and practices that undermine the American people’s confidence in the integrity of the federal elections processes.”

She then listed a number of things she said undermined her confidence in the election process, including “a president…who has yet to express his opposition to Russian interference in American elections,” and “voter suppression efforts targeted at voters of color, the working poor and students.”

While the comments were overwhelmingly negative, some supported the commission’s efforts.

“This is a necessary investigation since a lot of ineligible people voted in the last presidential election. If there is anything I can do, please let me know,” one commenter said.

Tina Prakash, a spokeswoman for Connecticut Secretary of State Denise Merrill, said the agency has received about 600 phone calls from state voters who are concerned about the White House’s request. Only four said they wanted Merrill to furnish the voting commission with all of the information it has asked for.

Prakash said the commission’s request included public information and that which is required to be kept confidential by federal and state law, including driver’s license numbers, information about protected individuals — including victims of crimes and law enforcement officers and court and correction officials — and partial Social Security numbers.

She said Merrill would release information the law allows to the White House if it followed state procedures for requesting that information.

In a letter to Kobach last week, Merrill said his request for information was “overly broad,” and she asked him a number of questions about the commission’s aim, including, “What is the purpose of providing the state voter database?” and “What is the commission’s role in protecting our electoral infrastructure from the sabotage of foreign nations or other types of malicious acts?”

The voting commission is scheduled to meet for the first time in Washington, D.C., on July 19. The panel has 13 members, including the secretaries of state from New Hampshire and Maine.
The White House releases unredacted emails of people concerned about the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Sensitive information revealed in the emails prompts immediate backlash and privacy concerns.