AUGUSTA

Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap has issued a statement regarding the dissolution of Presidential Election Integrity Commission, of which he was a member.

Dunlap participated in the commission’s two public meetings in 2017. Believing he was stonewalled from fully participating, filed a suit lawsuit seeking information on the commission’s work, which he won in December.

However, as of Wednesday, Dunlap said he has not received a response to his request for information.

Regarding Trump’s decision to dissolve the commission, Dunlap stated:

“While the order from the President dissolving the commission came without warning, it’s not a surprise. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity has not functioned according to the Federal Advisory Committee Act since its inception, and the ruling in my favor pursuant to the complaint I filed in the U.S. District Court has borne those shortcomings out.

“I am disappointed that we will not be able to answer the questions posed by the President about millions of illegal votes cast in the 2016 election. While I never believed we would find anything to substantiate those claims, I was excited by the opportunity to tell the world just how good Maine’s town and city clerks are, and how devoted election volunteers are, and how committed our citizens are to the principles of democratic self-governance.

“The lack of transparency brought nothing but suspicion onto the work of the commission, which bankrupted it of any chance at public legitimacy. While this chapter is now closed, I am committed to remaining vigilant on the front of election integrity and the transparent, free, and fair conduct of elections.

“I am greatly indebted to the voters of Maine for setting the standard in the conduct of elections, to my devoted coworkers in the Department of the Secretary of State, to the skilled attorneys at American Oversight and Patterson Belknap who represented our interests in Federal court, and to the Maine Legislature for entrusting me with this sacred charge. We now move on to the next chapter.”