Trump fires members of elections agency, escalating his target of voting ahead of midterms
TheGrio...
“Trump is terrified of the sacred power we all hold as voters, and that’s why he wants to rig this election,” said NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson.
President Trump made the unprecedented move to fire the remaining members of an independent elections agency, responsible for assisting states in administering federal elections, just months ahead of the midterm elections on Nov. 3.
On Thursday, Trump terminated two Democratic-appointed commissioners on the Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan group established by law in 2002, effectively immediately, and accepted the resignation of a Republican-appointed commissioner, reports the New York Times.
The Election Assistance Commission serves as a clearinghouse and information resource for states regarding election administration. It is also charged with accrediting voting equipment and developing and maintaining a national mail voter registration form.
The firings come just over a week after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Trump v. Slaughter, which gave the president new, broad authority to fire members of independent agencies once previously protected from certain executive interference.
Since returning to the office for a second term in January 2025, President Trump, who continues the lie that his 2020 presidential election loss was “rigged,” has sought to use his powers to restrict voting, including signing an executive order that restricted mail-in voting in states that refused to turn over voter data. Despite voting by mail himself in a March special election in Florida, Trump has called the practice “cheating.”
A federal judge blocked Trump’s executive order, ruling that certain sections were unconstitutional and beyond the executive branch’s authority. The U.S. Constitution grants states authority over federal elections.
Trump has also continued to push Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a bill that would require all voters to prove their citizenship and present IDs that match their birth certificates. Advocates and voting experts warn that such an election overhaul would result in major drops in election participation among many who would be burdened by the new requirements, including married women, minorities, young people, low-income earners, transgender Americans, and military service members.
In reaction to Trump’s latest terminations from the Election Assistance Commission, NAACP President and CEO Derrick Johnson said in a statement provided to theGrio, “Donald Trump knows that in November voters will reject everything he stands for. The economy is devastating, he’s starting endless wars resulting in Americans dying, and his paramilitary ICE police force is terrorizing our communities.”
He continued, “Trump is terrified of the sacred power we all hold as voters, and that’s why he wants to rig this election.”
The civil rights leader added, “Mr. President, your plan will fail miserably. If you think the American people will allow fascism, you are gravely mistaken. The NAACP will do everything in our power to send people to the polls and make their voices heard.”