In a break from other state election officials across the country, Louisiana Secretary of State Tom Schedler now says the Election Assistance Commission should remain in place.
USA Today reports 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 tells USA Today. “And I’m willing to take a look-see attitude.”
Schedler heads the National Association of Secretaries of State, but he says 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 organization has said it is 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. He says the agency has come a long way since the resolution’s 2005 approval.
“They got too much into the weeds with regulatory stuff, and that kind of had a lot of pushback from a lot of people,’’ he says. “The key word is ‘assistance,’ guidance, help—not regulate. I think that’s where they got into a lot trouble with a lot of people.”
Earlier this year, Schedler met with EAC commissioner Christy McCormick in New Orleans, where the two discussed outdated voting machines and other concerns. Schedler says he asked McCormick how the EAC can help secure more federal funding to buy and upgrade equipment.
Most HAVA funds have dried up. Congress has said additional funding isn’t likely.
