The TOI correspondent from Washington: In a move that has sent shock waves through the US and triggered suspicions among critics that US President Donald Trump is laying the groundwork to rig the November midterm elections, the White House has dismantled a bipartisan federal agency that helps America's sprawling and often chaotic voting system function.
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It is the first time in the 24-year history of the US Election Assistance Commission (EAC) that all its commissioners have been removed simultaneously. Democratic Chairman Thomas Hicks and Democratic Commissioner Benjamin Hovland reportedly received termination notices from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, while Republican Vice Chair Christy McCormick was allowed to resign. The commission had already shrunk from four members to three after Republican Commissioner Donald Palmer left earlier this year to join the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Unlike India's Election Commission, which directly supervises national elections, the EAC does not administer voting in the United States. Elections in America are highly decentralized and are conducted by thousands of county and municipal officials spread across 50 states, each operating under its own rules and procedures. Instead, the EAC performs what election experts describe as the "essential plumbing" of American democracy.
Created by Congress in 2002 after the disputed Bush-Gore presidential election and the infamous Florida recount, the commission was intended to restore confidence in US elections by bringing technical expertise and uniform standards to an otherwise fragmented electoral system. Among other responsibilities, it certifies voting equipment, accredits laboratories that test voting machines and distributes federal election grants to states.
The agency also maintains the national mail voter-registration form used by millions of Americans, issues guidance on election security and administration, and serves as a clearinghouse for best practices among state and local election officials. "The EAC is the connective tissue of election administration," one former federal election official said. "People do not notice it because, most of the time, it quietly does its job."
The White House has defended the dismissals as part of Trump's effort to ensure that officials responsible for election administration are aligned with his priority of "securing America's elections." But critics, particularly Democrats, see something entirely different. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer accused Trump of trying to "seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast," noting that the president had previously said Republicans should "take over the voting."
Democrats also argue that gutting an independent agency responsible for election administration risks undermining public confidence in an already polarized electoral system. "Every American regardless of political party should be horrified at yet another blatant effort by President Trump to eradicate every safeguard of free and fair elections. If Republicans remain silent in the face of his obvious attempts to rig the election, they are complicit in allowing our democracy to crumble," said Dan Goldman, a former lawmaker who led the effort to impeach Trump during his first term.
