Long Arm, Short Sighted

       President Trump appointed a commission in March to look into the country's elections and try to improve it as well as to look for flaws. It's called Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. Now that was a good idea and worthy of our president. We need to know our electoral process is safe and cannot be abused.
       But now the Commission has sent a letter to all fifty states instructing them to send copies of all voter rolls to the commission within two weeks. The information should include all names, addresses and if available social security numbers. But worst of all the letter states that all information will be made public. So now people can look up your information and get everything they need to commit fraud against you, and they can get it from the U. S. Government, legally.
       What does that say for government overreach? Do you really want the federal government to have that information about you if they're willing to share it with the public in general? A national data base for elections has been talked about for some years, but not a public one that shares your very private information.
       Here's the problem. You have no say as to whether or not the state you live in will comply with the letter. You don't control that information, your state does. And two weeks isn't much time to organize against it.
       Why does the federal government need social security numbers for voter registrations? And even if they do have a need for that information why would they be willing to share it with the public? If you ask me, the letter was poorly thought out. Such information should be jealously guarded. Vice President Mike Pence chairs this commission. If he had anything to do with this letter, shame on him.