President Donald Trump has removed the three remaining members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission (EAC), effectively leaving the agency in limbo as the 2026 midterm elections approach.

Multiple sources familiar with the matter told ProPublica that Trump fired Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, the Democrats on the commission. Christy McCormick, the Republican member, was allowed to resign.

The EAC, established in 2003 to set standards for state voting systems and provide funding for upgrades, plays a critical role in supporting state and local election officials. Cisco Aguilar, Nevada’s secretary of state and chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, stated, “The EAC plays a critical role in supporting state and local election officials, and it will again fall on Secretaries of State and other election administrators to fill the gap.”

A White House official declined to confirm the specific actions but said the president “reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted.” The official added, “The Administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections.”

In March 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing the EAC to change the national voter registration form to require proof of U.S. citizenship to register to vote.

The Bipartisan Policy Center, an election advocacy group, described the departures as a “significant loss for one of the federal government’s few institutions explicitly designed around bipartisan governance.”

The dismantling of the commission has alarmed voter advocacy groups and Democratic state election officials, who have called the move “reckless and irresponsible.”

Sources