Immediately after the 2016 election, Trump claimed that he lost the popular vote because of undocumented immigrants and widespread voter fraud.

After taking office, Trump formed the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity by executive order to investigate the alleged mass fraud. Vice President Mike Pence led the commission.

Multiple lawsuits were filed by organizations including the ACLU and Electronic Privacy Information Center, as well as one of the commission’s own members. The suits alleged lack of transparency and blatant partisanship.

The commission ran from May 11, 2017 to January 3, 2018, when it was disbanded after having found no evidence of the claimed voter fraud.

The commission member who filed suit, Maine Secretary of State Matt Dunlap, later explained, “even though the idea was to investigate voter fraud, it is pretty clear that the purpose of the commission was to actually affirm and validate the president’s claims whether or not we had any evidence of any such voter misconduct.”

Nevertheless, Trump continued to repeat his claims of mass voter fraud. The same year that the commission was disbanded, Trump justified voter ID laws by claiming that Americans need photo ID even to buy groceries. He also later accused mail-in-voting as being a vehicle for fraud, alleging that implementing such measures amid the COVID-19 crisis would mean no Republican would ever be elected again.

The New York Times – Trump Disbands Commission on Voter Fraud
Associated Press – Report: Trump commission did not find widespread voter fraud
Politico – Trump voter fraud panel sued by its own member
The New York Times – Trump Disbands Commission on Voter Fraud
NPR – Member Of Disbanded Trump Voter Fraud Commission Speaks Out
Wikipedia – Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity