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Trump Fired the Last 3 Election Commission Members. Midterms Are 4 Months Away.

Resist Now 3 min read
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Trump Gutted the Election Assistance Commission Four Months Before Midterms

Trump fired the two remaining Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission on July 10, 2026, leaving the bipartisan federal agency with no sitting commissioners. Thomas Hicks, the commission’s chairman, and Benjamin Hovland were notified by email, according to Reuters. The lone remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned the same day. A fourth commissioner, Republican Donald Palmer, had already left in April.

The EAC was created by Congress in 2002, after the disputed 2000 presidential election, to support state and local election officials. Federal law requires the commission to be evenly split between Democrats and Republicans. It certifies voting equipment, issues non-binding election guidelines, and maintains the national mail voter registration form used in all 50 states.

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections.”

White House statement, July 10, 2026

The firings follow a direct conflict between the EAC and the White House. In 2025, Trump signed an executive order directing the commission to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the national mail voter registration form. The EAC declined.

A federal judge then blocked that part of the executive order, ruling Trump had exceeded his authority. Trump has appealed that ruling.

Why This Matters for November 2026 Voting

The EAC’s most time-sensitive function is voting system certification. State and local election officials rely on the commission to certify the equipment they use. With no commissioners, that process stalls at the federal level just as jurisdictions are finalizing preparations for November.

Under the U.S. Constitution, states run their own elections. But the EAC exists precisely to provide technical and administrative support that states cannot always provide for themselves, particularly smaller counties with limited resources. Eliminating the commission’s leadership does not hand states more power. It removes a resource they depend on.

Trump’s broader push to assert federal control over election administration has been blocked in court repeatedly. The EAC firings represent a different tactic: instead of ordering the commission to act, the administration removed the commissioners who refused.

What You Can Do Now

  1. Call your senators at (202) 224-3121 and ask them to hold confirmation hearings for new EAC commissioners only if nominees commit to the commission’s statutory independence. The law requires bipartisan appointments, and senators control confirmation.

  2. Contact your state’s chief election official. Ask them publicly whether the loss of EAC commissioners affects their voting system certification timeline before November. Find your state’s election director at nass.org/elections.

  3. Submit a comment to the federal court reviewing Trump’s citizenship-document executive order appeal. The case directly determines whether the EAC’s refusal to alter the national voter registration form can be enforced. Track filings at courtlistener.com by searching “Election Assistance Commission.”

  4. Contact your House representative at (202) 225-3121 and ask them to co-sponsor legislation protecting the EAC from unilateral executive removal of commissioners, using the same protections applied to other independent commissions like the FEC.

Sources

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