Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler, in a break with other state election officials, now says the Election Assistance Commission should remain in place. His view marks a reversal of his earlier position that the commission, which helps states run their elections, should be eliminated. ‘’I kind of like what I see now,” Schedler said in a recent interview. “And I’m willing to take a look-see attitude.” Schedler heads the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), but he said he was speaking only in his capacity as Louisiana’s secretary of state in offering his revised position to shut down the federal agency.
The national association has approved three resolutions — in 2005, 2010 and 2015 — asking Congress to strip the EAC’s funding. The group said it’s concerned the commission will become a regulatory body.
Schedler, who supported the resolutions at the time they were approved, says the EAC has functioned effectively during this year’s presidential election and should stay.
Not everyone agrees. Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., a member of the House Administration Committee, said he will continue to push his bill to defund the EAC, which he said has outlived its usefulness. The committee has not yet held a hearing on Harper’s bill, which has no cosponsors. “The congressman is still very much looking to rid the world of the EAC,” said Jordan See, a spokesman for Harper.
Full Article: Schedler now wants to keep Election Assistance Commission.