With planning for the midterm elections well underway, President Trump has ousted the remaining members of a bipartisan federal agency that helps state and local officials run smooth elections and certify voting equipment. White House correspondent Liz Landers explains what happened at the Election Assistance Commission and the impact it could have in November.
Geoff Bennett:
With planning for the midterm elections well under way, President Trump has ousted the remaining members of a bipartisan federal agency that helps state and local officials run smooth elections and certify voting equipment.
Our White House correspondent, Liz Landers, is here to explain what happened at the Election Assistance Commission and the impact it could have in November.
So, Liz, who was pushed out and how is the White House explaining this move?
Liz Landers:
The three remaining commissioners there at the EAC were pushed out yesterday.
Thomas Hicks, who was the chairman, he is a Democrat, also Benjamin Hovland, he was also a Democrat appointed to the commission, and then one Republican who apparently resigned under pressure, Christy McCormick, have all left. The fourth commissioner had already left at that point. So there is no one on the EAC right now that is a confirmed commissioner.
Votebeat reports that last night these commissioners, the two who were dismissed, received an e-mail telling them that they were being pushed out, and it was signed by someone from the White House. We have not heard directly from the president on this, but I did e-mail the White House yesterday asking for comment about this.
A White House official told me in a statement that the president has the authority to fire people that — quote — “may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.”
And, interestingly, Geoff, the White House pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision, the Slaughter decision, which tests the limits of the president’s ability to fire independent agency heads. He was allowed to fire this FTC commissioner, Rebecca Slaughter, but Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, does remain in her job.
So if one of these terminated members of this board were to sue, we might be in uncharted legal territory.
Geoff Bennett:
So, the EAC, the Election Assistance Commission, I think it’s fair to say most people did not know it existed until the White House fired the remaining commissioners.
What exactly does it do?
Liz Landers:
This commission does not have any of these confirmed commissioners at this point, so they can’t act.
But I spoke with David Becker earlier today. He’s the executive director of the Center for Election Innovation and Research, and he said that the EAC doesn’t really have much control over anything. They have kind of three main areas and tasks that they do. They create alongside election officials a voluntary voting system’s guideline to certify voting equipment.
But, again, that’s voluntary. Not all states participate. They give grant money when appropriated by Congress, and then they administer a election voting administration survey every two years.
Geoff Bennett:
How concerned are state election officials about all of these changes?
Liz Landers:
One Republican that I spoke to was not very concerned. This person pointed out that because the EAC does not have any governing authority, they were not that worried about this decision.
I also spoke, though, with Tobias Read. He’s the Democratic secretary of state of Oregon. He called these firings irresponsible and reckless. And I asked how this change will affect the midterm elections in his state.
Tobias Read:
I think it remains to be seen. As I said, we’re we are prepared to step into that gap. But I think it also really underscores how important it is for the president to — if he wanted to really make a difference in elections, he would he would go to a whole range of other things that would be much more effective.
The president could restore the funding to the agency that is responsible for protecting our elections from foreign interference and cyber intrusions. He hasn’t chosen to do that. He could make it easier for more people to have the access that Oregonians do to paper mail-in ballots.
So, if the president were serious about this, he’d be focused on that, instead of this kind of manufactured controversy and exceeding his authority.
Geoff Bennett:
And these firings aren’t happening in a vacuum, as you well know. President Trump has been laser-focused on trying to change how elections at the state level are administered in this country.
Liz Landers:
He’s put pressure on various parts of the government and also used presidential power and authority, which the courts, I would add, have pushed back on throughout the last year or so.
I think our audience will remember that the director of national intelligence went to Fulton County to investigate the election there from 2020 that still has no proof of substantial voter fraud there. The Department of Justice keeps losing challenges to their requests for personal data and voter rolls.
There are executive orders about mail-in ballots that the president has signed, and courts keep telling him that he does not have authority over election administration in this country, and then he has also put pressure on Congress recently on that SAVE America Act, a sweeping voting piece of legislation.
So, for years now that he’s been elected, he’s been talking about election fraud, which is incredibly rare in this country, Geoff. This is a solution without a problem.
Geoff Bennett:
Liz Landers, thanks so much for this reporting. We appreciate it.
Liz Landers:
Of course.
