New Mexico secretary of state condemns removal of federal election commissioners
Maggie Toulouse Oliver says eliminating the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission’s remaining leadership threatens public confidence months before the November midterms.
Maggie Toulouse Oliver says eliminating the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission’s remaining leadership threatens public confidence months before the November midterms.
Organ Mountain News report
SANTA FE - New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver condemned the removal of the remaining members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, calling the action reckless and potentially damaging to public confidence in elections.
President Donald Trump’s administration forced out the commission’s final three members Thursday, leaving all four seats vacant, Reuters reported. Republican Commissioner Christy McCormick resigned while Democratic Commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were fired by email. The commission’s fourth seat had been vacant since April.
“This is effectively a complete dismantling of an independent, bipartisan commission that exists for the sole purposes of supporting secure elections and an informed electorate,” Toulouse Oliver said. “It is reckless, unwarranted, and threatens to do real harm to the confidence Americans have in our elections.”
The Election Assistance Commission supports state and local election administrators, develops voluntary voting-system guidelines, accredits laboratories that test voting equipment and maintains the national mail voter registration form.
Organ Mountain News
Congress established the commission through the Help America Vote Act of 2002 following election-administration problems exposed during the 2000 presidential election.
The commission is structured to have four members nominated by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Congressional leaders from both major parties recommend nominees, and no more than two commissioners may belong to the same political party.
The three commissioners who departed Thursday had each been confirmed unanimously by the Senate, according to Reuters.
A White House official told Reuters that the president has the authority to remove officials who may not align with his administration’s election-security priorities. The official cited a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision expanding presidential authority over independent federal agencies.
Toulouse Oliver said New Mexico election officials remain committed to conducting the November midterm election despite the disruption at the federal commission.
“No matter how much chaos this administration continues to try to create, I know that my colleagues and I remain resolved in our commitment to ensuring every eligible voter has an opportunity to safely and securely cast a ballot in November,” she said.
Toulouse Oliver encouraged New Mexicans to continue relying on the Secretary of State’s Office website for voter registration requirements and information about casting a ballot.
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