President Donald Trump signed an executive order Thursday to establish a commission to investigate voter fraud.

The move, which ABC News first reported, comes months after Trump claimed he would have won the popular vote had it not been for voter fraud. He has claimed that between 3 million and 5 million people voted illegally in last years presidential election. There is no evidence to support his claim. Several investigations , including multiple post-election audits, have found that while voter fraud does sometimes happen, it is extremely rare.

The commission, which will be chaired by Vice President Mike Pence and have Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R) as its vice chair, will review policies and practices that enhance or undermine the American peoples confidence in the integrity of federal elections including improper registrations, improper voting, fraudulent registrations, fraudulent voting and voting suppression, according to the White House.

However, the text of the order, which is formally called the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, says it will study the laws, rules, policies, activities, strategies, and practices. It does not specifically mention voter suppression or barriers to voting.

Voting rights groups condemned the commission, saying it was an effort to distract from Trumps decision to abruptly fire FBI Director James Comey amid its investigation into alleged ties between Trump and Russia, and possible Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, called the commission a sham and distraction in an effort to try and find proof of the presidents absurd voter fraud claim.

It tries to pivot from the fact that this week Trump fired the chief law enforcement officer in charge of probing whether his advisors colluded with Russia to influence our elections, Waldman said. He fired the person investigating a real threat to election integrity, and set up a probe of an imaginary threat.

Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn also questioned the timing of the commission launch. To investigate any election problems at this juncture while denying and ignoring the Russian attack on the presidential election ... is irresponsible and a slap in the face to the American people who want and deserve to know what happened, she said.

While the committee is formally tasked with investigating both voter fraud and suppression, Kobachs appointment sends a clear signal that it will be focused on fraud. The White House has pointed to Kobach to back up its claims of voter fraud before, but the Kansas Secretary of State has stumbled when trying to do so.

Kobach pushed one of the most restrictive voting laws in the country, which requires Kansas residents to show proof of citizenship when they register to vote and photo ID when they go to the polls. If residents could not prove properly provide proof of citizenship, they were placed on a suspense list for 90 days and then purged from the voter rolls.