President Donald Trump has removed the final three commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), leaving the bipartisan federal body without leadership prior to the midterm elections.

總統唐納德·川普已撤換美國選舉援助委員會（EAC）最後三名委員，使得這個兩黨構成的聯邦機構在中期選舉前陷入領導層真空。

The dissolution of the EAC leadership was executed on July 9 through a combination of direct terminations and a forced resignation. Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were dismissed via electronic correspondence from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was permitted to resign. This action follows the earlier departure of Republican commissioner Donald Palmer in April, resulting in the total vacancy of the four-seat commission. The White House administration characterized these removals as a legitimate exercise of presidential authority to ensure agency alignment with the objective of securing elections and ensuring the counting of legal votes. This legal position relies upon the Supreme Court's ruling in Trump v. Slaughter, which expanded the executive's power to remove officials from independent agencies without cause.

EAC 領導層的解散於 7 月 9 日透過直接撤職與強迫辭職執行。民主黨委員 Thomas Hicks 與 Benjamin Hovland 透過白宮總統人事辦公室的電子郵件被解雇，而共和黨委員 Christy McCormick 則被允許辭職。在此行動之前，共和黨委員 Donald Palmer 已於 4 月離職，導致這個四席位的委員會全部空缺。白宮行政部門將這些撤換定調為行使總統權力的合法行為，旨在確保機構與保障選舉安全及確保合法票數計數的目標一致。此法律立場依據最高法院在 Trump v. Slaughter 案中的裁決，該裁決擴大了行政部門在無需正當理由下撤換獨立機構官員的權力。

Historically, the EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to serve as a non-administrative support mechanism for state and local authorities. Its primary functions include the certification of voting technology, the distribution of federal security grants, the maintenance of the national mail voter registration form, and the provision of technical guidance. Because the agency requires a quorum of three commissioners to approve official actions, the current vacancy renders the body incapable of adopting new policies or updating existing standards. This operational paralysis occurs amidst the administration's efforts to implement the SAVE America Act and a previous executive order seeking to mandate proof of citizenship on registration forms—a directive that was partially blocked by the judiciary.

從歷史來看，EAC 是根據 2002 年的《幫助美國投票法》成立，旨在為州與地方當局提供非行政支援機制。其主要職能包括認證投票技術、分配聯邦安全撥款、維護國家郵寄選民登記表格以及提供技術指導。由於該機構需要三名委員達到法定人數才能通過正式行動，目前的空缺使得該機構無法採取新政策或更新現有標準。此運作癱瘓正值行政部門試圖實施《SAVE America Act》以及先前尋求在登記表格上強制要求公民身份證明的行政命令之際，而該指令已被司法部門部分攔截。

Stakeholder responses reflect a profound divergence in institutional interpretation. Democratic legislators and election officials, including Senator Mark Warner and Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, have characterized the move as an attempt to destabilize election infrastructure and politicize oversight. Conversely, some Republican representatives have defended the overhaul as a necessary step toward increasing accountability and election integrity. Academic observers have noted that the timing of these removals, occurring shortly before a general election, may complicate legal remedies and mirror global patterns of democratic institutional erosion.

利益相關者的反應反映出制度詮釋上的深刻分歧。包括參議員 Mark Warner 與亞利桑那州州務卿 Adrian Fontes 在內的民主黨立法者與選舉官員，將此舉定調為企圖破壞選舉基礎設施並將監督政治化。相反，部分共和黨代表則辯稱，此次重組是增加問責制與選舉誠信的必要步驟。學術觀察家指出，這些撤換在總統大選前不久發生，可能會使法律救濟複雜化，並反映出全球民主制度侵蝕的模式。

The EAC currently remains inoperable, leaving state and local election officials to manage the upcoming midterms without federal coordination or updated technical guidance.

EAC 目前依然無法運作，使得州與地方選舉官員在缺乏聯邦協調或更新技術指導的情況下，必須自行管理即將到來的中期選舉。