INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The Latest on state elections officials who are gathering in Indianapolis (all times local):
11:45 p.m.
California’s chief elections official is puzzled by the absence of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach from a gathering of elections officials from across the U.S.
Kobach is the co-chair of a White House voter fraud commission that’s investigating allegations made by the President Donald Trump without proof that there were millions of fraudulent ballots cast during last November’s election.
California Secretary of State Alex Padilla said Saturday that it’s “awkward, to put it mildly” that Kobach opted against attending the National Association of Secretaries of State conference in Indianapolis this weekend.
Kobach, a Republican, sent letters last week to all 50 states requesting voter information, including dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, addresses and voting histories.
The request drew blowback from Republicans and Democrats alike.
Padilla, a Democrat, said that if Kobach was serious about working with states to improve the integrity of U.S. elections, he would have attended the conference.
A spokeswoman for Kobach did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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10:50 a.m.
Illinois has joined 15 other states in refusing to provide detailed voter information to a White House commission investigating President Donald Trump’s allegations of widespread voter fraud.
The Illinois State Board of Elections sent a letter on Friday declining to provide the information requested by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who is co-chairing White House commission.
Last week, Kobach sent letters to all 50 states requesting voter information, including dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, addresses and voting histories.
The request drew blowback from Republicans and Democrats alike.
The Illinois letter comes as state elections officials from across the country are gathering in Indianapolis for conference.
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2 a.m.
State election officials are gathering this weekend amid an uproar over a presidential commission investigating allegations of voter fraud and growing concern about Russian attempts to interfere with last fall’s election.
The four-day meeting of the National Association of Secretaries of State in Indianapolis comes a week after President Donald Trump’s commission investigating allegations of voter fraud requested detailed voter data from every state. The request includes dates of birth, partial Social Security numbers, addresses and voting histories.
Fifteen states have refused to provide the information. The others are undecided or have said they will provide only some of it.
Keeping state and local election systems secure from hackers also is expected to be a dominant topic.
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