Trump Fires Last Election Assistance Commission Members
Donald Trump has been accused of attempting to rig the upcoming US midterm elections after he fired the last three members of the independent Election Assistance Commission (EAC). This move paralyzes the only federal agency solely devoted to election administration, just months before the midterms.
Critics, including senior Democrats and civil rights organizations, have vowed to fight back against the Trump administration's efforts to increase federal control over elections. Trump continues to push the Save America Act, a right-wing overhaul of elections that would impose new voting restrictions.
Reactions from Democrats and Civil Rights Leaders
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, stated: “Donald Trump knows that in November voters will reject everything he stands for. The economy is devastating, he’s starting endless wars resulting in Americans dying, and his paramilitary ICE police force is terrorizing our communities. Trump is terrified of the sacred power we all hold as voters, and that’s why he wants to rig this election.”
Chuck Schumer, the Democratic Senate minority leader, called the dismissals a “brazen attempt” to seize control of elections. He wrote on social media: “Firing every remaining member of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission months before the midterms is a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast. He is gutting the independent agency that certifies voting systems and helps election officials run secure elections.”
Details of the Firings
The commission’s two Democrats, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, were terminated effective immediately via email on Thursday. The sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, was pushed to resign. A fourth seat had been vacant since Republican Donald Palmer left earlier this year for the Heritage Foundation.
The White House argued the president has the authority to remove officials not aligned with securing elections, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling expanding his power to fire heads of independent agencies. However, election law scholars note that the ruling’s reach into bipartisan bodies like the EAC remains untested, as Congress deliberately built the commission around an even partisan split.
Impact on Election Administration
Created under the Help America Vote Act after the disputed 2000 election, the EAC does not run elections itself. It distributes federal election security grants, maintains the national mail voter registration form, certifies voting machines, and advises state and local officials. With no commissioners, it cannot vote on formal actions, leaving it unable to update voting standards or the federal registration form.
This potentially freezes changes the administration has pushed for, including a citizenship documentation requirement already blocked in part by courts. Replacements require Senate confirmation, a process that could drag past the midterms.
Warnings from Officials
Ousted commissioner Benjamin Hovland told NBC News: “When you’re asking more and more of people without giving them the necessary resources, mistakes happen. It feels much more like a death-of-1,000-cuts situation.”
Cisco Aguilar, Nevada’s Democratic secretary of state, called the firings “incredibly irresponsible.” He said: “The EAC plays a critical role in supporting state and local election officials, and it will again fall on secretaries of state to fill the gap. From cutting funding for cybersecurity to launching baseless investigations, this pattern makes it harder for our election officials to do their work.”
