PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) - President Donald Trump has tapped a Democratic county clerk from West Virginia to join a national elections panel aimed at investigating voter fraud allegations.
The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports that Wood County Clerk Mark Rhodes learned Thursday that he’ll join the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.
Rhodes said he is appreciative, excited and nervous to join the commission.
“In West Virginia, voter registration accessibility and accuracy is paramount for local elections officials, and I am enthused to bring West Virginia’s perspective to the national stage,” Rhodes said in a news release.
Republican West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner recommended Rhodes for the job, citing his commitment to clean elections, up-to-date voter registration rolls and work ethic.
“Mark Rhodes will insure that local county clerks all across America will have a strong, competent voice on this very important Commission,” Warner said in a news release. “There are 3,144 counties in the United States, and Wood County can be used as an example of how to combine a small budget and hard work to conduct fair and accurate elections.”
Rhodes was first elected to the office by a five-vote margin in 2014.
Trump established the committee last month by executive order.
The White House has said the panel will examine allegations of improper voting and fraudulent voter registration.
Vice President Mike Pence is the chairman and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is vice chairman.
The commission will hold public meetings and report back to Trump by 2018.
Many Democrats and voting rights groups say there are few, if any, credible allegations of significant voter fraud, and consider Trump’s panel a sham.
Without evidence, Trump has claimed 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in his 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Clinton. He has vowed since the start of his administration to investigate voter fraud.
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Information from: News and Sentinel (Parkersburg, W.Va.), https://www.newsandsentinel.com
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