In Reply to: on the FEC firings, EAC and ballots from below posted by russsmith on July 10, 2026 at 19:17:43
The EAC can't make the states do anything--because our Constitution delegates conduct of elections to the states.
What the EAC does is recommend best paractices. They provide model guidelines. Just like other entities provide building codes models and models for motor vehicle laws. Following the recommendations us voluntary.
They do certify voting machines. That tells states "these are the machines you can have confidence in." The states still have the freedom to choose other machines, although that would be pretty foolish.
Even if Trump leaves the entire board vacant, that doesn't stop the staff work. It just means there's no way to update recommendations.
The longer those seats are vacant, the less states will choose to be influenced by their recommendations.