Category Archives: Election Assistance Commission

EAC Chair McCormick Defends Her Opposition to Automatic Voter Registration

August 14, 2019, 8:40 pmElection Assistance Commission, voter registrationRick Hasen

The Fulcrum: The chairwoman of the Election Assistance Commission told the nation’s state legislators last week that she’s opposed to automatic voter registration.Adding qualified citizens to the rolls whenever they do business with a state agency, unless they choose to… Continue reading

“Federal Election Agency, Hungry for Funds, Now Pays for Officials to Get to Office”

July 19, 2019, 4:07 pmElection Assistance CommissionJustin Levitt

ProPublica on some apparent extended commutes to the EAC.

Must-read Politico Deep Dive into Brian Newby, a Kobach Protege Who is Causing Major Problems with Election Administration as Executive Director of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission

June 15, 2019, 12:51 pmchicanery, election administration, Election Assistance Commission, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Read this quite damning portrait: A tiny federal agency that plays a crucial role in assisting the nation’s local election supervisors is gripped by a leadership crisis that hassparked concerns that it is unprepared to play its role in… Continue reading

“Mitch McConnell is Making the 2020 Election Open Season for Hackers” (though much of this New Yorker article is about dysfunction or worse at the EAC)

June 12, 2019, 8:08 pmelection administration, Election Assistance Commission, The Voting Wars, voting technologyRick Hasen

Sue Halpern must-read.

“The Cybersecurity 202: States spent just a fraction of $380 million in election security money before midterms”

April 5, 2019, 8:13 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

WaPo: Congress scrambled in early 2018 to deliver a surge in election security money before the midterms. But it turns out that states only spent about 8 percent of the $380 million Congress approved by the time the elections… Continue reading

Some EAC Commissioners Lack Security Clearances

April 1, 2019, 7:32 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Eric Geller with the scoop (but full story behind paywall): Scoop: Half of @EACgov commissioners lack security clearances, and no one on the commission had a clearance during the 2016 or 2018 elections: https://t.co/ebhbumzVFCAn EAC member without a clearance… Continue reading

“Fantastic! The EAC Is Officially Four Again”

February 7, 2019, 8:33 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Doug Chapin: Yesterday, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) was formally restored to full membership for the first time in nearly ten years with the swearing in of two new recently confirmed Commissioners. … Full membership puts the EAC… Continue reading

EAC Now Has Full Complement of Commissioners

January 2, 2019, 4:49 pmelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Via Eric Geller of Politico: The @EACgov will have a quorum! Background: https://t.co/5qIuvrb8Gs https://t.co/SgLWbSeu5W — Eric Geller (@ericgeller) January 3, 2019

The Hill: EAC Commissioners Expected to Be Confirmed Soon, Giving the Agency a Quorum Again

December 27, 2018, 11:09 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

The Hill: The agency has been unable to tackle major policy actions since March when one of the commissioner’s terms expired. And that came on the heels of criticism for not initially taking election interference seriously in 2016. But two… Continue reading

“Improve Elections, Fully Confirm Election Assistance Commission Before 2020”

December 4, 2018, 9:49 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Matt Weil for BPC: It’s hard to make progress when you have both hands tied behind your back a third of the time. Voters want more secure and better functioning elections, and Congress can act right now to accomplish that.… Continue reading

“To Protect Election Integrity Common Cause Calls for Up-or-Down Votes on EAC Nominees”

December 3, 2018, 2:53 pmelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Release: Today, Common Cause called on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee to fully staff the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and hold up-or-down floor votes on the two pending EAC nominees before the end of year. In a letter… Continue reading

The EAC is MIA on Election Cybersecurity, and We Can Blame Kobach’s Former Underling, Brian Newby, and EAC Commissioner Christy McCormick, Who Served on Trump’s “Fraud” Commission

November 5, 2018, 5:18 pmelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Devastating for an agency that’s had such promise, from Jessica Huseman: One of the EAC’s commissioners has dismissed the threat of foreign governments undermining American elections in private meetings with state election officials, and often personally appealed to individual… Continue reading

Correction: President Trump Nominates Benjamin Hovland to Seat on Election Assistance Commission

October 8, 2018, 7:01 amElection Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

The announcement is here. (Via Political Activity Law.) Apparently he is being paired with a Don Palmer nomination from back in June. No word on whether Commissioners Hicks and McCormick are being renominated. This post has been corrected.

“Elections Very Small Agency Tackling Very Big Problem of Election Meddling”

April 5, 2018, 7:39 amelection administration, Election Assistance CommissionRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: One of the federal government’s smallest agencies is taking on one of the country’s most pressing problems: foreign meddling in U.S. elections. The Election Assistance Commission, which has an annual budget of less than $10 million and about… Continue reading

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