Trump Pushes Out Members of Bipartisan Election Commission Ahead of Midterms

4 hours ago

President Trump removed the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, including Democrats Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks (fired) and Republican Christy McCormick (allowed to resign).
The move leaves the bipartisan commission, established in 2003 to set voting standards and provide funding, in limbo and allows Trump to appoint replacements aligned with his election security agenda.
Critics, including voter advocacy groups and Democratic state officials, condemned the dismantling as reckless, warning it undermines support for state and local election administration.
A White House statement emphasized the president's right to remove individuals not fully aligned with securing elections and preventing fraud, especially ahead of the midterms.
In March 2025, Trump ordered the EAC to change the national voter registration form to require proof of U.S. citizenship, a move pushed by allies but not yet voted on by the commission.
The commission has faced issues like partisan infighting and underfunding but had recently made progress, such as setting new voting machine standards, often with unanimous decisions despite partisan divides.

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