Trump removes the last EAC commissioners days before 2026 midterms

On July 9, 2026, President Donald Trump terminated the last three members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), leaving the agency with no confirmed commissioners heading into the 2026 midterm election season. Reuters reports the White House confirmed the terminations, after the fourth commissioner had already left in April.

What the EAC is supposed to do

The EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). According to the EAC, its mission is to help election officials improve election administration and help Americans participate in the voting process.

Among the federal functions the EAC carries out:

• Developing guidance to help meet HAVA requirements
• Adopting voluntary voting system guidelines
• Serving as a national clearinghouse for election administration information
• Accrediting testing laboratories and certifying voting systems
• Auditing the use of HAVA funds
• Maintaining the national mail voter registration form

The specific HAVA-linked function at issue: testing & certification

The commissioner gap matters most for election technology oversight because one core EAC job under HAVA is its Testing and Certification Program (T&C).

The EAC describes T&C as a requirement of HAVA that assists state and local election officials by providing voting machine testing and certification. HAVA, the EAC says, mandates that the commission provides certification, decertification, and recertification of voting systems and the accreditation of voting system testing laboratories.

The EAC also says the purpose of its national voluntary certification program is to independently verify that voting systems comply with functional capability, accessibility, and security requirements established in the EAC’s voluntary voting system guidelines.

So what could change when there are no commissioners?

It’s not automatically a question of “everything stops.” Instead, the near-term question for election administrators is about which steps may require formal commission action.

In the voting system certification process described in the EAC’s FAQs, test laboratories provide recommendations, and the Certification Division, working through the Executive Director, makes the determination whether to issue a certification.

But when it comes to accrediting laboratories, the EAC’s FAQ states that after EAC review, the Commission votes on full accreditation—so some commission-level decisions may be harder to complete without confirmed members.

That’s why the practical impact of this commissioner-free period is an accountability and timing question: what can be handled through existing staff processes versus what depends on commission votes during the 2026 cycle.

What to watch next

• White House nominations to refill the EAC commissioner vacancies
• Senate confirmation actions and timelines
• Any EAC public updates clarifying what decisions can proceed during a commissioner gap and what may wait for commission-level action

Sources

• Reuters reporting (via Investing.com): July 9, 2026 Trump terminates remaining EAC members
• Roll Call: after the firings, the EAC has no members
• EAC — Voting System Testing & Certification Program (HAVA framework description)