AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Maine won’t comply with a request by President Donald Trump’s commission investigating voter fraud because it runs afoul of state law, Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap said Monday.
After consulting with the attorney general, Dunlap said Maine’s Central Voter Registration system is considered confidential by statute, conflicting with the election commission’s intention to make the information public.
Maine law also doesn’t allow access to information like Social Security numbers, full birth dates, voter participation history or party affiliation, he noted.
“Maine citizens can be confident that our office will not release any data that is protected under Maine law to the commission or any other requesting entity,” Dunlap said.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity asked states last week to submit information including voter names, birthdates, the last four digits of Social Security numbers and voter history, as long as it isn’t prohibited by state law.
Trump established the commission to investigate allegations of voter fraud in the 2016 elections, but Democrats say the panel is merely looking for ways to suppress the vote.
Some of the nation’s most populous states, including California and New York, are refusing to comply with the request. But even some conservative states that voted for Trump, such as Texas, say they can provide only partial responses based on what is legally allowed under state law.
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