Latest: Donald Trump repeats voter fraud claims as he disbands commission probing it

"They fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally. System is rigged, must go to Voter I.D."

Many mostly Democrat States refused to hand over data from the 2016 Election to the Commission On Voter Fraud. They fought hard that the Commission not see their records or methods because they know that many people are voting illegally. System is rigged, must go to Voter I.D.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018

He said: "As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do.....except when it comes to the most important thing, voting for the people that run your country."

As Americans, you need identification, sometimes in a very strong and accurate form, for almost everything you do.....except when it comes to the most important thing, VOTING for the people that run your country. Push hard for Voter Identification!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 4, 2018

Mr Trump has claimed that he lost the popular vote to Hillary Clinton in 2016 because of widespread voter fraud although he still obtained the keys to the White House by winning the electoral college system that picks the president.

But election experts say there are relatively few cases of fraud in voting.

Mr Trump disbanded the voter fraud commission amid infighting, lawsuits and state officials' refusal to cooperate.

Earlier: US President Donald Trump is disbanding his controversial voter fraud commission amid infighting, lawsuits and state officials’ refusal to co-operate.

Mr Trump convened the commission to investigate the 2016 presidential election, after alleging repeatedly and without evidence that voting fraud cost him the popular vote. Mr Trump won the Electoral College.

The White House blamed the decision to end the panel on more than a dozen states which have refused to comply with the commission’s demand for reams of personal voter data, including names, partial social security numbers, voting histories and party affiliations.

"Rather than engage in endless legal battles at taxpayer expense, today President Donald J Trump signed an executive order to dissolve the commission, and he has asked the Department of Homeland Security to review its initial findings and determine next courses of action," White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said in a statement.

Critics saw the commission as part of a conservative campaign to make it harder for poor people and minority voters to access the ballot box, and to justify Mr Trump’s claims of voter fraud.

Mr Trump has repeatedly alleged, without evidence, that between three million and five million people voted illegally in the 2016 election, delivering the popular vote to his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton. Mrs Clinton received more than 2.8 million more votes than Mr Trump nationwide.

While there have been isolated cases of voter fraud in the US, past studies have found it to be exceptionally rare.

Critics also viewed the commission as part of an attempt to distract from the ongoing investigations into Russian election meddling and potential collusion between Moscow and Trump campaign aides.

The intelligence community concluded that the Russian government mounted a campaign to help Mr Trump win, hacking email accounts and spreading false stories.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, a conservative Republican and the commission’s vice chairman, characterised the decision to dissolve the bipartisan group as a "tactical change" and argued that the DHS can pursue an investigation of election fraud more quickly and efficiently.

"The Democrats, both on and off the commission, made very clear that they were not interested in determining the scope and extent of voter fraud and, indeed, they were trying to stop the commission in its tracks," he said. "The Democrats lost their opportunity, lost their seat at the table, by stonewalling."

Mr Kobach, a vocal supporter of tough voter ID laws, alleged that Democrats wanted no investigation.

"Their motto is ’Nothing to see here’," he said.

One of the members of the commission, Democratic Maine Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap, sued the commission in federal court, alleging that it had violated federal law by refusing to provide him documents available to other members, among other charges.

Mr Dunlap said on Wednesday that Mr Kobach and his allies "were the ones that were stonewalling", and that they had "very definite ideas of what they wanted this commission to come up with".

Three Democratic senators - Michael Bennet of Colorado, Cory Booker of New Jersey and Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota - had also asked the US Government Accountability Office to investigate the commission, which it agreed to do in October.

Mr Kobach said he intends to work closely with the DHS and the White House and expects the bulk of the DHS investigation to be done by mid-summer.

More than a dozen states, as well as the District of Columbia, had rebuffed the commission’s request for voter data, citing privacy concerns and a fear that complying would legitimise the idea that voter fraud is widespread.

While there have been isolated cases of people voting illegally, and many voter rolls contain outdated data, there is no evidence that voter fraud is a widespread problem in the United States or has affected election results.

A study by a Loyola Law School professor found that, out of one billion votes cast in all American elections between 2000 and 2014, there were only 31 known cases of impersonation fraud.

During the commission’s first meeting, Mr Trump had questioned the motives of states which refused to comply with the commission’s request, suggesting they had something to hide.

Voter advocacy groups and Democrats applauded Wednesday’s decision.

"It is no surprise that a commission founded on a lie of widespread voter fraud proved to be a fraud itself," said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat, who had refused to comply with the commission’s request for voter data.

"No taxpayer dollars should have been wasted on Mr Trump’s voter suppression crusade."

Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union Voting Rights Project, accused the commission of engaging in "a wild-goose chase for voter fraud, demonising the very American voters whom we should all be helping to participate - with the not-so-secret goal of making voting harder with unnecessary barriers.

"President Trump has tried and failed to spread his own fake news about voter fraud."

AP