October26, 2017

Last week, Klobuchar sent Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary Chris Kobach a letter regarding data security and reports that a staffer employed by the Commission was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography; Klobuchar received an auto-reply from the Commission’s official email address directed to the staffer she expressed concerns about, raising serious questions about the vetting process for the staff the Commission has hired, what sensitive data the staffer had access to, and whether the Commission will adequately address the issue

In her sixth letter to the Commission, Klobuchar asks the individual members of the Commission to provide a timeline for responding to previous letters from members of Congress, detail the vetting process for hiring staffers, and to explain how sensitive voter data will be protected

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar, Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee, today said that the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity’s lack of transparency, questionable vetting procedures for staffing, and serious vulnerability in voter system data undermine confidence in our election infrastructure. Last week, Klobuchar sent Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary Chris Kobach a letter regarding data security and reports that Ronald Williams III, a staffer employed by the Commission, was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. Klobuchar received an auto-reply from the Commission’s official email address directed to the staffer she expressed concerns about, raising serious questions about the vetting process for the staff the Commission has hired, what sensitive data Williams had access to, and whether the Commission will adequately address the issue. In her sixth letter to the Commission, Klobuchar asks the individual members of the Commission to provide a timeline for responding to previous letters from members of Congress, detail the vetting process for hiring staffers, and to explain how sensitive voter data will be protected.

“The Commission's lack of transparency in dealing with members of Congress, its own Commission members and the press exacerbates the overwhelming concern raised by both Republicans and Democrats regarding the Commission's unprecedented request for sensitive voter data. American voters have no way of knowing who has access to their voter information, what it is being used for, or how it is being stored and protected. This is unacceptable,” Klobuchar wrote. “The Commission's stated goal is to address factors that ‘undermine the American people's confidence in the integrity of the voting processes.’ The Commission's lack of transparency, questionable vetting procedures for staffing, and the serious vulnerability in its voter data system present clear examples of practices that undermine confidence in our election infrastructure. This is evidenced by the fact that voters across the country have elected to un-register to vote because of the Commission's actions.”

Klobuchar continued, “Recent revelations from Commission members suggest that our communications may not be reaching them, therefore I am now directing all communication to individual members of the Commission in addition to the Commission’s official correspondence account. It is my sincere hope that by raising these concerns directly with individual members of the Commission, the concerns will be swiftly addressed.”

Last week, Klobuchar and a group of seventeen Senate Democrats demanded responses to unanswered letters and raised new concerns with the Commission. Following the Commission’s original request for sensitive voter data from state officials, Klobuchar and a group of twenty-five senators wrote a letter in July to request the Commission rescind its demand for voter registration information. Klobuchar has also requested details about the Commission’s compliance with the Federal Advisory Commission Act (FACA) and demanded details on the Commission’s procedures and protocols to ensure covered records are properly preserved and made accessible.

The full text of Klobuchar’s letter is below:

Dear Members of the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity,

Last week, I sent Vice President Pence and Secretary Kobach a letter regarding data security and reports that a staffer employed by the Commission was charged with possession and distribution of child pornography. I am alarmed by the fact that the day the letter was sent, we received an auto-reply from the Commission's official email address that directed correspondence to the attention of Ronald Williams II, the very staffer I wrote expressing concerns about.121 The week of October 9, Williams was arrested and charged with eleven counts of possession and distribution of child pornography. A week later the Commission still had not updated its accounts to ensure that correspondence was not directed to Williams. This raises serious questions about the vetting process for the staff the Commission has hired, what sensitive data Williams had access to and whether the Commission will adequately address the issue.

Further troubling is that fact that the Commission's own members report that they are “completely uninformed” or “in the dark” about its activities, which suggests a systematic failure to be transparent. Multiple members of the Commission have indicated they do not have access to complete staff lists, and reporters ' requests for these lists have been ignored. In a letter to Commission Executive Director Kossack, Commissioner Dunlap reported that he has received no information about the Commission's research or activities since September 12th. If the Commission is not transparent and accountable to its own members, it raises serious concerns about its compliance with federal transparency laws which govern the Commission’s actions to ensure it is accountable to the American people.

The Commission is either unwilling or unable to respond to repeated requests for information. This is the sixth letter that l have sent to the Commission in my capacity as Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee. My colleagues in the Senate have also sent letters to the Commission. None have been answered.

The Commission's lack of transparency in dealing with members of Congress, its own Commission members, and the press exacerbates the overwhelming concern raised by both Republicans and Democrats regarding the Commission's unprecedented request for sensitive voter data. American voters have no way of knowing who has access to their voter information, what it is being used for, or how it is being stored and protected. This is unacceptable.

The Commission's stated goal is to address factors that “undermine the American people's confidence in the integrity of the voting processes.” The Commission's lack of transparency, questionable vetting procedures for staffing, and the serious vulnerability in its voter data system present clear examples of practices that undermine confidence in our election infrastructure. This is evidenced by the fact that voters across the country have elected to un-register to vote because of the Commission's actions.

Recent revelations from Commission members suggest that our communications may not be reaching them, therefore I am now directing all communication to individual members of the Commission in addition to the Commission’s official correspondence account. It is my sincere hope that by raising these concerns directly with individual members of the Commission, the concerns will be swiftly addressed. I respectfully request that each individual Commissioner:

Provide an estimated timeline for its response to previous letters from members of Congress.