In final press conference as president, Obama declares voter fraud to be 'fake news

President Barack Obama declared Wednesday that the issue of voter fraud is "fake news."

The outgoing commander in chief made the statement during his last news conference as president. President-elect Donald Trump will be inaugurated Friday as the 45th president, officially marking the end of Obama's two-term tenure in the White House.

During his final public exchange with the White House press corps, Obama was asked about a variety of topics, one of which was civil rights.

Recalling the president's 2015 trip to Selma, Alabama, which marked the 50th anniversary of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s famous civil rights march at the Edmund Pettus Bridge, Urban Radio Networks reporter April Ryan asked: "Which gaps still remain when it comes to rights issues on the table and what part will you play in fixing those gaps in your new life?"

While addressing the subject, Obama took a swipe at voter identification laws that various states across the country have now implemented. Advocates of voter ID laws say they help to reduce voter fraud, thereby further upholding the integrity of the U.S. electoral system.

However, Obama made it clear that he disagrees.

"I hope that people pay a lot of attention making sure everybody has a chance to vote," Obama told reporters. "Make it easier, not harder."

"This whole notion of voting fraud. This is something that has constantly been disproved. This is fake news," Obama added. "The notion that there are a whole bunch of people out there who are not eligible to vote and want to vote — we have the opposite problem."

"We have a whole bunch of people who are eligible to vote who don't vote," the president said.

Pres. Obama on voting fraud: "This is fake news...we are the only country in the advance world that makes it harder to vote and not easier." pic.twitter.com/DTppBeEfoi

— ABC News (@ABC) January 18, 2017