Voting rights activists expressed immediate concern this week after President Trump signed an executive order to establish a “Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.” Most alarming was the inclusion of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, who will serve as the committee’s vice chair. Kobach has a history of pushing for intense voter identification legislation, and voting rights advocates worry his inclusion will accelerate voter suppression.

In a new interview on Democracy Now!, journalist Ari Berman discusses the commission and its potential effects with Amy Goodman. Berman, who recently wrote a piece for The Nation analyzing the commission, tells Goodman that the newly created group is actually “a voter suppression commission.”

Noting that the commission stems from Trump’s continued claims of a “rigged” election, Berman says that Trump’s creation of the commission is “absolutely chilling.”

“Voter fraud is something that plays to Trump’s base,” Berman says. “This is something that Trump always dusts off when there’s some sort of controversy.”

Watch Part 1 and Part 2 of the interview below:

—Posted by Emma Niles