What Is the Election Assistance Commission?
Trump has long touted false claims that U.S. elections are mired with widespread fraud and abuse, and has drawn on that baseless narrative to aggressively push for restricting practices such as mail-in voting and imposing stricter identification requirements for voters.
It is not yet clear whether Trump will appoint new commissioners to the board, or what will happen with the EAC if all four seats remain vacant.
What is the Election Assistance Commission?
The EAC is a bipartisan, independent agency that assists in administering elections.
Created under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) in 2002, it establishes voting guidelines, certifies voting systems, maintains the national voter registration form, distributes federal elections grants, and functions as a clearinghouse of information on best practices for elections.
Of the EAC’s four total commissioner seats, only two may be filled by commissioners belonging to the same political party. The President nominates EAC commissioners, and they must be confirmed by a simple majority vote in the Senate.
