U.S. Election Assistance Commission

WASHINGTON – The Standards Board of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) recently elected three new executive board members at a meeting in Atlanta, Georgia.

The new members are Kootenai County, Idaho, County Clerk Dan English (Democrat); Broomfield, Colorado, City and County Clerk Russ Ragsdale (Unaffiliated); and Iowa Director of Elections Sandy Steinbach (Unaffiliated).

“We’re very fortunate to add the experience and wisdom of these new members to the executive board,” said Commissioner Gracia Hillman, who is the Standards Board’s designated federal officer. “We appreciate their willingness to serve our country, and I know we will rely on their expertise as we work together to make sure that every vote cast is counted accurately and fairly.”

The Help America Vote Act (HAVA) requires the formation of a 110-member Standards Board to assist EAC in carrying out its mandates. Fifty-five members are state election officials selected by their respective chief state election official and 55 are local election officials selected through a process supervised by the chief state election official. HAVA prohibits any two members representing the same state to be members of the same political party. The board elects nine members to serve as an executive board, of which not more than five are state election officials, not more than five are local election officials, and not more than five are members of the same political party. For more information about the Standards Board, including a list of all members, visit www.eac.gov.

The executive board officers are Chair Peggy Nighswonger, Wyoming state elections director (Republican); and Secretary Sarah Ball Johnson, executive director of the Kentucky State Board of Elections (Republican). The remaining executive board members are Tonni Bartholomew, Troy, Michigan city clerk (Independent); Louie Bernard, Natchitoches Parish, Louisiana, clerk of court (Democrat); Larry Lomax, Clark County registrar of voters, North Las Vegas, Nevada (Independent); and Indiana Secretary of State Todd Rokita.

EAC is an independent bipartisan commission created by HAVA. It is charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, implementing election administration improvements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, accrediting test laboratories, certifying voting systems and serving as a national clearinghouse and resource of information regarding election administration. The Commission is also responsible for auditing the use of HAVA funds.

The three EAC commissioners are Chair Donetta Davidson, Paul DeGregorio and Gracia Hillman. There is one vacancy on the commission.

###