MSNBC's Maria Teresa Kumar: Trump’s Voter Fraud Commission Will “Ensure That Our Democracy Is Compromised”

Kumar: Commission Vice Chair Kris Kobach Has “A Nationalist Bent On Who He Believes Should Be Casting Ballots, And It Is Disproportionately Not A Person of Color” 

From the May 12 editon of MSNBC's MSNBC Live with Hallie Jackson

Video file

HALLIE JACKSON (HOST): The president has claimed, incorrectly that millions of people have voted illegally. No evidence to back it up. You're entrenched in this issue. What are your concerns? 

MARIA TERESA KUMAR: The biggest concern is that they're trying to do voter intimidation. The fact that [Senate Majority Leader] Mitch McConnell [R-KY] came out in February and said this idea that there were allegations of 3 million people voting illegally and he said that it was nonsense, we should take the direction of Mitch McConnell. What they're trying to do basically is create a voter fraud case and then come to the midterm elections, actually do voter purging. And that is the most dangerous for young people of color, people that have disabilities, veterans because they may not be able to participate because they may have decided they didn't vote in this last election, but now they're going the say wait a second, you didn't participate. They're going to look or any excuse to ensure that our democracy is compromised.

JACKSON: [Kansas Secretary of State] Kris Kobach. Is he the right person to lead this effort? 

RICK TYLER: Maybe look, I don't believe in this 3 million voter fraud. I mean is there voter fraud? Sure, goes back to the beginning of the republic. We had Jim Crowe laws, but --

KUMAR: But the Brennan Center has demonstrated there is less than 0.001 percent of voter fraud. Meaning that -- but that's an anomaly. And Kris Kobach has been the mastermind behind these really terrible immigration laws that the court have thrown out. He has very much a nationalist bent on who he believes should be casting ballots and it is disproportionately not a person of color

Previously

State Election Officials Throw Cold Water On Conservative Voter Fraud Fears

GOP Strategist: Trump Is Using Voter Fraud Commission To "Confirm His Conspiracy Theories

Hannity's Interview With Kris Kobach Proves Election Commission Is About Voter Suppression