Firing Election Officials Without Cause: A Direct Attack on Democracy's Machinery

Here's what matters: the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) exists for one reason, to help states run fair elections and certify voting equipment. It's not partisan. It's not powerful. It's just there to be the adult in the room when voting machines break or states disagree on how to count ballots.

According to reporting from The Hill, the president fired the remaining Democratic members of the EAC on Thursday. David Axelrod, a Democratic strategist, called it a red flag for potential election interference.

The Common Good Party sees this clearly: this is the machinery of democracy being dismantled for partisan gain.

Why This Matters

The EAC was created after 2000, after Florida and hanging chads taught us that elections need neutral technical expertise, not political loyalty tests. Commission members are supposed to serve fixed terms. They're not supposed to be fired because they belong to the wrong party.

When you fire people whose job is to ensure fair elections, you're not improving anything. You're removing a guardrail. You're saying that election integrity matters less than political control.

This is the opposite of what a healthy democracy does. A healthy democracy builds institutions that survive partisan change. It staffs them with people chosen for competence, not loyalty. It protects them from the pressure of whoever holds power this year.

How This Connects to What We Believe

The Common Good Party exists because we believe democracy itself is broken. Not just the outcome, the machine. That's Pillar III: Common Ground. We say it plainly: "fixing the machinery of democracy itself. Money out of politics, real choices at the ballot, transparency and anti-corruption with teeth."

That includes the independence of election administration. If the people running elections answer to politicians instead of to the law, then voters don't pick leaders, politicians do.

Our voting rights position is direct: "Democracy only works when every citizen can participate. Gerrymandering, voter ID laws, and polling place closures are making it harder, deliberately." Firing election officials for partisan reasons belongs in that same category. It's a deliberate act that makes it harder for democracy to work.