HARTFORD — Connecticut Secretary of the State Denise Merrill says she hopes President Donald Trump‘s review of alleged voter fraud during the presidential election is not a “fig leaf for voter suppression and intimidation.”
A Democrat and president of the National Association of Secretaries of State, Merrill said Thursday that voter fraud is extremely rare and it has been used “as an excuse to disenfranchise tens of thousands of eligible voters.”
Trump, a Republican, signed an executive order Thursday launching a commission to examine allegations of improper voting and fraudulent voter registration in state and across the nation. Trump has alleged, without evidence, that 3 million to 5 million people voted illegally in his 2016 election against Democrat Hillary Clinton.
Merrill says she stands by Connecticut’s election process and its election officials.
