State Officials Turn Down Presidential Request For Voter Information
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Pennsylvania will NOT turn over its voter registration files to a Presidential Commission, calling the request an attempt at voter suppression.
The request from the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity went to all 50 states seeking names, addresses, birth dates, voter history, felony convictions, military service, and partial social security numbers, among other information.
"What exactly are they going to do with it?" asked City Commissioner Lisa Deely, relieved the state opted not to comply.
She agrees with the concern it could be used for voter intimidation.
"We always have to be vigilant on the push for strict voter ID laws and procedures that would disenfranchise voters," she said.
Much of the information is public and routinely purchased by political parties but the breadth of the request raised questions.
David Thornburgh of the watchdog Committee of 70 found the premise worrisome.
"A faulty premise seems to be that there was massive voter fraud in the last election, which there was not," he said.
