The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is once again in the limelight. The EAC has faced extensive criticism since its creation in 2002: It has been accused of political bias in its reporting, hiring discrimination, technical inadequacy, inefficiency, and irrelevance. Most recently, the EAC announced the departure of its third executive director in as many years, Steven Frid. This continued pattern of high turnover has drawn the ire of observers who once again question the agency’s leadership and stability going into a contentious election season.
In The Nuanced Challenges of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, the Bipartisan Policy Center makes the case that the EAC’s shortcomings aren’t the fault of agency leadership or employees. Rather, a combination of political interference, structural limitations, and insufficient funding has hampered the EAC’s ability to function as effectively as it could. Furthermore, the EAC has made real progress in reforming its operations and programs to better serve the election community since the 2020 election.
While challenges remain, the narrative that the EAC is a wholly ineffective organization fails to account for recent progress that has occurred despite significant, externally imposed limitations. With the right reforms in place, the EAC could continue building on this progress to fully maximize its potential as the only federal agency entirely devoted to election administration.Read the full explainer here: The Nuanced Challenges of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission