A Checklist for Nominees to the Election Assistance Commission

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The Election Assistance Commission is responsible for adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration, accrediting testing laboratories, certifying voting systems, and auditing the use of Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA)  funds. It also develops guidance to meet HAVA requirements.

HAVA specifies that the Election Assistance Commission shall be comprised of four commissioners nominated by the president regarding recommendations from the majority and minority leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives and the U.S. Senate. No more than two commissioners may belong to the same political party. Once confirmed by the full Senate, commissioners may serve two consecutive terms, totaling eight years.  

In pursuit of the goal “easy to vote, but hard to cheat,” the Center for Election Integrity at the America First Policy Institute provides the following questions candidates should answer as a checklist to determine the worthiness of nomination to the Commission:

• Do you believe state governments are responsible for the administration of elections, rather than the federal government, as defined in the Constitution and interpreted by the Supreme Court?
• Do you believe federal funds should be distributed proportionally to states for elections administration based solely on voter population and not any other factor?
• Do you believe private money should be used to finance the administration of public elections?
• Do you believe federal departments should be engaged in voter registration activities?
• Do you believe voting machines should be subjected to better security standards, such as restricting component sourcing from state sponsors of terrorism and prohibiting Wi-Fi connectivity, given that voting machines are designated as critical infrastructure?
• Do you believe voting machines should be sourced, assembled, and manufactured in America?
• Do you believe those who are not American citizens should be able to vote in American elections?