Controversial rightwing activist to join Trump's election integrity commission

J Christian Adams has led lawsuits against jurisdictions with large minority populations in an effort to purge voter rolls

Ben Jacobs in Washington
Tuesday 11 July 2017 16.41 BST

Donald Trump has appointed J Christian Adams, a controversial conservative activist, to his election integrity commission.

The panel already contains many of the most vocal advocates for restrictions on voting rights. Adams is a board member of the American Civil Rights Union, a conservative group for which he has led lawsuits against jurisdictions with large minority populations, seeking to force the purging of voter rolls.

Adams has also advocated against automatic voter registration, calling it a partisan vehicle for fraud and claiming: “Voter registration takes forethought and initiative, something lacking in large segments of the Democrat base.”

Adams is best known for his role in promoting the New Black Panther voter intimidation case, after the 2008 election. The case involved two men standing outside a polling place in Philadelphia, one of whom was carrying a night stick. A justice department investigation into whether this constituted voter intimidation became a cause célèbre on the right, largely promoted by Adams.

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