Election Assistance Commission

The Election Assistance Commission (EAC) is an independent agency of the United States government created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). The Commission serves as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. It is charged with administering payments to states and developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and accrediting voting system test laboratories and certifying voting equipment. It is also charged with developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.

Responsibilities

The EAC is tasked with performing a number of election-related duties including:
* creating and maintaining the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines
* creating a national program for the testing, certification, and decertification of voting systems
* maintaining the National Mail Voter Registration Form required by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993 (NVRA)
* reporting to Congress every two years on the effects of the NVRA on elections
* administering federal funds to States for HAVA requirements
* administering federal funds for the development of innovative election technology, including pilot programs to test election technology
* studying and reporting best practices of effective administration
* communicating information on laws, technologies, procedures, studies, and data related to the administration of federal elections to those responsible for formulating or implementing election law and procedures, to the media, and to other interested persons

The HAVA requires the EAC will create voluntary guidelines for voting systems, maintaining a clearinghouse of information regarding election administration procedures including testing and certification of election equipment, and administering the Election Assistance and Help America Vote Programs.

History

In 2003, Congress appropriated US$1.5 billion for HAVA. The General Services Administration distributed most of the $650 million permitted under Title I of HAVA, and the remainder was earmarked for the EAC to disburse. The funds were not distributed because the commissioners were not confirmed until December 9, 2003; the law had required that they be in place by February 26, 2003. The initial Commissioners were:
* DeForest Soaries Jr. (2003–2005)
* Ray Martinez, III (2003–2006)
* Paul S. DeGregorio (2003–2007)
* Gracia Hillman (2003–2010)

In its 2004 budget, Congress again allocated $1.5 billion to fund HAVA. By January 2004, the EAC did not have permanent offices or budget, even though it was required to publish state election reform plans in the Federal Register before money for new voting equipment could be disbursed to the states.

On December 6, 2006 Caroline Hunter and Rosemary E. Rodriguez were nominated by President George W. Bush to replace Ray Martinez and Paul DeGregorio. They were confirmed by the U.S. Senate on February 15, 2007.

In 2010, the EAC lost its quorum of Commissioners, after the resignation or end of term of Hunter (2008), Rodriguez (2009) and Hillman (2010), preventing many normal operational duties; and was without any Commissioners by 2011 after the resignation of Davidson. Bills were subsequently drafted to end the Commission. Specifically, Representative Gregg Harper introduced a bill to windup the EAC and transfer some of its functions to the Federal Election Commission.

The EAC did not regain a quorum until December 16, 2014, when the U.S. Senate confirmed three Commissioners, Thomas Hicks, Matthew V. Masterson, and Christy McCormick. Masterson resigned in 2018; and on January 2, 2019, President Donald Trump's nominees, Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer, were confirmed by the US Senate, and took office in February 2019.

Chair and commissioners

The Help America Vote Act specifies that four commissioners are nominated by the President on recommendations from the majority and minority leadership in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate. Once confirmed by the full Senate, commissioners may serve two consecutive terms and no more than two commissioners may belong to the same political party.

Commissioners

On December 16, 2014, the U.S. Senate confirmed three Commissioners, Thomas Hicks, Matthew V. Masterson, and Christy A. McCormick. Masterson resigned in 2018.

Thomas Hicks served as the Senior Elections Counsel and Minority Elections Counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration from 2003 to 2014, where he oversaw all Committee matters relating to Federal elections and campaign finance. Prior to that, he was a Policy Analyst for Common Cause, a non-profit, public advocacy organization working in support of election and campaign finance reform. He also previously served as a Special Assistant in the Office of Congressional Relations at the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. He received his J.D. from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law and his B.A. in Government from Clark University (Worcester, MA).

Christy A. McCormick served as a Senior Trial Attorney in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice, a position she held from 2006 until this year. She was detailed by the Deputy Attorney General to be Senior Attorney Advisor and Acting Deputy Rule of Law Coordinator in the Office of the Rule of Law Coordinator at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, Iraq from 2009 to 2010. From 2003 to 2006, she served as a Judicial Clerk to the Honorable Elizabeth A. McClanahan in the Court of Appeals of Virginia. She was an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant to the Solicitor General in the Office of the Attorney General of Virginia from 2001 to 2003. She was a Judicial Law Clerk in the Seventh Judicial Circuit Court of Virginia from 1999 to 2001. She received a B.A. from the University of Buffalo and a J.D. from the George Mason University School of Law.

In February 2019, Benjamin Hovland and Donald Palmer took office, replacing Masterson and filling the other vacancy.

Former commissioners

Former Commissioners include:
* DeForest Soaries Jr. (2003–2005)
* Ray Martinez, III (2003–2006)
* Paul S. DeGregorio (2003–2007)
* Caroline Hunter (2007–2008)
* Rosemary E. Rodriguez (2007–2009)
* Gracia Hillman (2003–2010)
* Donetta Davidson (2005–2011)
* Gineen Bresso (2008–2011)
* Matthew Masterson (2014–2018)

Paul S. DeGregorio a past chairman of the EAC. He was nominated by President Bush and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on December 9, 2003. DeGregorio replaced the EAC's original Chairman, former Secretary of State of New Jersey DeForest Soaries. He had previously served as Vice Chairman. Prior to his service with the EAC Chairman DeGregorio served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES), and was Director of Elections for St. Louis County, Missouri from 1985 to 1993.

Caroline HunterSenate Congressional Record
, February 15, 2007 served as Deputy Director of Public Liaison for the White House and as Deputy Counsel of the Republican National Committee.

Rosemary Rodriguez previously served on the Denver City Council of the City and County of Denver, District 3, Colorado.

Gracia Hillman served as EAC Chair in 2005 and is the former executive director of the League of Women Voters of the United States.

Donetta Davidson is a former Colorado Secretary of State and was the agency's 2007 chair.

Gineen Bresso served as EAC Chair in 2009 and was the minority elections counsel for the Committee on House Administration prior to her appointment with EAC. She previously served as a policy advisor to former Maryland Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. where her primary area of focus was on election law.

Officers and staff

Executive Director

The current Interim