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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the President Donald Trump's voter integrity commission (all times local):
4:30 p.m.
The vice chair of President Donald Trump's voter fraud commission says we may never know whether Hillary Clinton really won the 2016 election's popular vote.
Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach was asked in an interview Wednesday with MSNBC whether he believed Clinton had won the popular vote because of fraud.
He responded, "We will probably never know the answer to that question" because even if ineligible voters were determined to cast votes, it would be impossible to determine whom they voted for.
There is no evidence whatsoever of mass voter fraud in the 2016 election, despite the president's repeated claims to the contrary.
Trump won the Electoral College by a comfortable margin. Clinton won the popular vote by nearly 2.9 million votes.
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11:45 a.m.
President Donald Trump kicked off his voter fraud commission's first meeting Wednesday by criticizing states that failed to comply with the commission's requests to turn over voter information. Trump says "one has to wonder what they're worried about."
Numerous states rebuffed the commission's request for detailed voter data, including voter names, voting histories and party registrations.
Trump said the commission will "protect" the nation's democracy and "uphold the integrity of the ballot." He insisted it would be nonpartisan and "follow the facts" wherever they might lead.
There is no evidence of widespread voter fraud in last year's election. But Trump signed an executive action to create the commission, led by Vice President Mike Pence, to investigate any improper voting.
Democrats have attacked the commission as a ploy to disenfranchise voters.
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11:38 a.m.
Vice President Mike Pence says the President Donald Trump's voter integrity commission will perform a "nonpartisan" service for the American people.
Pence spoke Wednesday as the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity convened for its first meeting.
He says that commission he chairs has "no preconceived notions or pre-ordained results."
Trump formed the commission after alleging without evidence that he lost the popular vote in the 2016 election because of voter fraud.
Past studies have found voter fraud to be extremely rare.
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10:10 a.m.
President Donald Trump's voter integrity commission is meeting Wednesday for the first time amid outrage over its request for extensive personal voter data.
The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity got off to a rocky start when numerous states rebuffed its request for detailed voter data, including voter names, voting histories and party registrations.
Trump convened the commission after alleging that voter fraud cost him the popular vote. That's despite past studies showing voter fraud is exceedingly rare.
Officials have said the commission will also examine ways to protect voting systems from foreign interference. But Trump has repeatedly voiced skepticism about Russia's role in the 2016 campaign.
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