A little-known federal agency is at the center of Trump's executive
order to overhaul US elections
[April 24, 2025]
By CHRISTINA A. CASSIDY
ATLANTA (AP) — Florida’s “hanging chads” ballot controversy riveted the
nation during the 2000 presidential contest and later prompted Congress
to create an independent commission to help states update their voting
equipment.
The U.S. Election Assistance Commission has operated in relative
anonymity since, but is now central to President Donald Trump’sexecutive
order seeking to overhaul elections. One of the commission’s boards will
meet Thursday in North Carolina, the first commission-related meeting
since the directives were announced.
Among other things, Trump directed the agency to update the national
voter registration form to add a proof of citizenship requirement. But
whether the president can order an independent agency to act and whether
the commission has the authority to do what Trump wants will likely be
settled in court.
Why was the commission created?
Congress approved the Help America Vote Act in 2002 to help states
replace outdated voting systems and improve the voting experience.
It passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan support and was signed into law
by then-President George W. Bush, a Republican who won the 2000
presidential contest over Democrat Al Gore in a disputed election that
went to the U.S. Supreme Court.
The culprit was a method of voting at the time in Florida that relied on
so-called punch-card ballots, which required voters to mark their
choices using a hand-held stylus. But thousands of voters didn't punch
their ballot choices completely, leaving it to local election workers —
some using magnifying glasses — to divine their intent. The resulting
chaos in the pivotal swing state and intense national attention turned
“hanging" and “pregnant" chads into household terms.
The Supreme Court ultimately stopped the counting, leaving Bush with a
537-vote victory margin that gave him the Electoral Votes he needed to
claim the presidency.
The 2002 law was designed to modernize the voting process. Under it, the
Election Assistance Commission was given a number of mandates:
distribute $2.8 billion in federal money for new voting equipment;
create voluntary guidelines for voting systems and establish a federal
testing and certification program for them; oversee the national voter
registration form; and gather data about federal elections.
The four commissioners who lead the agency are nominated by the
president based on recommendations from the majority and minority
leaders in the U.S. House and Senate, then confirmed by the Senate. No
political party can be represented by more than two commissioners.
At various points, the agency has faced budget cuts, staffing shortages
and gridlock caused by vacancies in the commissioner positions. But a
consistent budget and a quorum among the commissioners since 2019 has
led to increased stability, with election officials praising its efforts
in recent years.
Trump wants to put his own stamp on elections
Trump has long been skeptical of how elections are run, making false
claims that the 2020 election was “rigged” against him. Multiple reviews
of that election confirmed his loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
He has continued to criticize voting processes since his win last
November, including in his March 25 executive order, which calls for
major changes that include a proof-of-citizenship requirement when
people register to vote for federal elections.
While Trump directed several federal agencies to act, two of the order’s
major provisions were directed at the Election Assistance Commission.
It was instructed to “take appropriate action” within 30 days to require
documentary proof of citizenship on the national voter registration
form. The order outlines acceptable documents as a U.S. passport, a
REAL-ID compliant driver’s license or official military ID that
“indicates the applicant is a citizen,” or a government-issued photo ID
accompanied by proof of citizenship.
It also directed the commission to “take all appropriate action to
cease” federal money for any state that fails to use the form that
includes the proof-of-citizenship requirement, though a handful of
states are exempt under federal law. Trump also wants the commission to
revise standards for voting systems.
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Ben Hovland, Commissioner of the U.S. Election Assistance
Commission, speaks at the National Association of Secretaries of
State winter meeting, Feb. 16, 2023, in Washington. (AP
Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)
Election experts have said the changes are unrealistic given the
process outlined in federal law, which includes reviews by advisory
groups and a period for public comment. The last major update to the
voluntary guidelines for voting systems took years and was approved
by the commission in 2021.
“It’s practically impossible to demand that commissioners of the EAC
create wholly new voting system guidelines based on highly
questionable criteria within 180 days,” said David Becker, a former
Justice Department lawyer who leads the Center for Election
Innovation & Research. “It raises the question as to whether this
was designed to create chaos since it cannot be practically and
competently completed.”
Lawsuits say the commission is independent and not subject to
Trump's orders
Trump’s executive order has prompted lawsuits by voting rights
groups, the Democratic Party and Democratic elected officials in 21
states. They say the president is exceeding his authority under the
Constitution.
A lawsuit by 19 Democratic attorneys general argues that the
commission was created by Congress to operate independently to
protect elections and is required to make decisions “under standards
of bipartisanship” and in collaboration with the states.
“The Elections EO seeks to eradicate all those safeguards — aiming
to force the Commission to rubberstamp the President’s policy
preferences on, among other things, voter registration and voting
systems,” lawyers for the states wrote.
Justin Levitt, an expert in constitutional law who served previously
as deputy assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s
civil rights division, said Congress established the Election
Assistance Commission as independent of the president and did not
give it any enforcement authority.
“It’s not like most of the other agencies in the federal government,
and that makes a big difference in the amount that it can do or will
do to further Trump’s agenda,” Levitt said. “Legally, that (order)
has as much impact as if I told the EAC what to do or you told the
EAC what to do.”
What happens next?
On Thursday, the commission’s Standards Board begins its annual
meeting in North Carolina, where it will hear from election
officials from across the country, many of whom are likely to have
questions about the commission’s role under Trump’s order.
Earlier this month, the commission’s executive director sent a
letter to state election officials summarizing the
proof-of-citizenship requirement outlined in Trump’s order and
asking how states would propose to implement it, if required, and
what effect that would have on voter registration.
Chairman Donald Palmer said the agency was following the law, which
governs the way any proposed change to the federal form can be made.
“That’s the process that we’ve done in the past, and that’s the
process we did this time,” Palmer said. “In my mind, this is really
to get information from the states.”
He praised the commission’s ability in recent years to find
consensus and noted that the litigation would likely settle
questions surrounding the executive order.
“We are in the executive branch, but we are an independent agency.
And so those answers will – I’m sure those will be resolved,” he
said.
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Associated Press writer Ali Swenson in New York contributed to this
report.
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