To Protect Election Integrity Common Cause Calls for Up-or-Down Votes on EAC Nominees

Today, Common Cause called on the Senate Rules and Administration Committee to fully staff the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) and hold up-or-down floor votes on the two pending EAC nominees before the end of year. In a letter Chairman Roy Blunt (R-MO), Ranking Member Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and the full Committee, Common Cause emphasizes the vital roll the EAC plays in advising the patchwork of state and local officials who oversee our elections.

“Every eligible American voter deserves to be able to cast their ballots without undue hardship and to have that vote counted as cast, and the EAC plays a critical role in making sure that happens,” said Common Cause President Karen Hobert Flynn. “At a time when our election infrastructure is facing unprecedented threats from hostile foreign powers and when insufficient resources, administrative failures, and problematic equipment led to widespread problems on Election Day, we need a fully-staffed EAC now. The right to vote is a lynchpin of our democracy and the EAC plays an important role in safeguarding that right.”

Due to the range of threats and problems threatening our elections, the letter stresses that the EAC “must prioritize basic best practices, including voter-verified paper ballots, manual post-election audits that provide a high level of statistical confidence in the result, and basic cyber hygiene.” Support for these best practices should be viewed as a requirement for any nominee to the EAC, the letter emphasizes. These best practices are vital to restoring voter confidence our elections.

The EAC’s guidance, the letter notes, is also critical to anticipating and avoiding the administrative and technical problems that plagued the 2018 election and saw thousands of Americans unable to make their voices heard through the ballot box.

To read the full letter, click here.