Trump terminates members of Election Assistance Commission ahead of midterms
President Donald Trump dismissed the remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, drawing rebuke from an Arizona official and raising alarm about election administration months before the midterms.
The terminations
On Thursday, the White House Presidential Personnel Office sent emails to Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland informing them their positions as commissioners of the Election Assistance Commission were terminated immediately. Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was permitted to resign rather than be fired, according to multiple people briefed on the matter. The removals vacate the leadership of the four-member bipartisan body months before the November midterm elections.
The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America's elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.
Reaction
Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes condemned the move in a statement Thursday, calling it irresponsible and dangerous and warning that it undermines nonpartisan election administration.
It is irresponsible and dangerous that this Administration remains dead set on causing chaos for our election officials across this country. This move undermines the integrity of nonpartisan election administration.
The role of the EAC
Created by Congress in 2002 through the Help America Vote Act, the EAC serves as a national clearinghouse for election administration. It accredits testing laboratories, certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail voter registration form. The commission does not handle ballots or voter rolls and holds no authority over state election officials, but it provides training, best practices, and election security grants to local administrators.
Background and next steps
The terminations follow President Trump's persistent push to tighten vote-by-mail rules and his administration's inquiries into the 2020 election outcome, which he lost to Joe Biden. The Help America Vote Act gives the president the power to appoint replacements, but the White House has not indicated how it intends to reconstitute the commission. With the midterm campaigns already underway, the EAC now operates without any commissioners.
