Silver Spring, Md. – Today, the United States Election Assistance Commission’s four sitting Commissioners announced they will soon launch an official search the Commission’s next Executive Director and General Counsel. As that search takes place, the Commissioners have enacted a new succession plan. At this time, the EAC’s Chief Information and Security Officer, Mona Harrington, will serve as acting Executive Director.
“The EAC remains as vital today as at any other time since Congress established the agency as part of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA). As the 2020 Presidential Election approaches, we thank our dedicated staff for their efforts to serve election officials and voters, and we look forward to considering candidates to serve as the agency’s next Executive Director and General Counsel,” said EAC Chairwoman Christy McCormick, Vice Chair Ben Hovland, Commissioner Thomas Hicks, and Commissioner Donald Palmer. “The EAC is charged with providing top quality resources that support accurate, secure, and accessible elections for all eligible voters. We are lock-step in our commitment to fulfilling that mandate.”
In the coming days, job postings for the Executive Director and General Counsel positions will be posted on USAjobs.com and will remain open for 30 days. Once the application process closes, the Office of Personnel Management will rank the applicants and, per HAVA instructions, provide their assessments to the Executive Director Search Committees for the EAC’s Standards Board and Board of Advisors. These committees will review the applicant pool and provide the EAC’s Commissioners with at least three Executive Director candidate recommendations to consider. The EAC’s Commissioners are not bound by the names provided to them by the Boards. HAVA does not mandate that the General Counsel hire proceed through the EAC’s Boards.
Harrington will assume her role on October 23. Prior to joining EAC, she spent 10 years in executive leadership at the United States Court of Appeals, for the federal circuit. Prior to joining the court she worked for the Corporate Executive Board and other private sector companies in IT positions. Harrington holds a Master of Science from Rochester Institute of Technology in Cyber Security and CBRN, and a BS in Administration of Justice from George Mason University. She holds a certificate in Senior Executive Leadership from Harvard University.
For more information, please contact Adrian Smith at 202-897-9285 or [email protected].