Posted by AzBlueMeanie:
The Presidential Commission on Election Administration is now up and running. Check out its new web site here.
I have low expectations for any meaningful election law reforms to come from this commission, mostly because the Republican Party's go-to lawyer for voter suppression, Ben Ginsburg, is co-chair of the commission. In my view, Ginsburg there to ensure nothing happens.
White House press release. President Obama Announces His Intent to Appoint Individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration:
President Obama Announces His Intent to Appoint Individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration
WASHINGTON, DC – Today, President Barack Obama announced his
intent to appoint ten individuals to the Presidential Commission on
Election Administration. The Presidential Commission on Election
Administration was created following President Obama’s State of the
Union pledge to identify non-partisan ways to shorten lines at polling
places, promote the efficient conduct of elections, and provide better
access to the polls for all voters.
• Robert F. Bauer – Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Benjamin L. Ginsberg – Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Brian Britton – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Joe Echevarria – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Trey Grayson – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Larry Lomax – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Michele Coleman Mayes – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Ann McGeehan – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Tammy Patrick – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
• Christopher Thomas – Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
President Obama said, “The right to vote is one of
the most essential rights provided by the Constitution. As I said in my
State of the Union Address, when any American, no matter where they
live or what their party, is denied that right simply because too many
obstacles stand in their way, we are betraying our ideals. We have an
obligation to ensure that all eligible voters have the opportunity to
cast their ballots without unwarranted obstructions or unnecessary
delay. I am pleased that these committed individuals have agreed to
offer their expertise to the Presidential Commission on Election
Administration and I look forward to working with them in the coming
months.”
President Obama announced his intent to appoint the following
individuals to the Presidential Commission on Election Administration:
Robert F. Bauer, Appointee for Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Robert F. Bauer is currently a partner at Perkins Coie LLP and General
Counsel to the Democratic National Committee. He previously served as
General Counsel to Obama for America and served as White House Counsel
from 2009 to 2011. In his 30 years of practice, Mr. Bauer has provided
counseling and representation on matters involving regulation of
political activity before courts and administrative agencies for
national party committees, candidates, political committees,
individuals, Federal officeholders, corporations and trade associations,
and tax-exempt groups. He received a B.A. from Harvard University and a
J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law.
Benjamin L. Ginsberg, Appointee for Co-Chair, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Benjamin L. Ginsberg is currently a partner at Patton Boggs LLP where
he represents campaigns, candidates, members of Congress and state
legislatures, Governors, corporations, trade associations and
individuals participating in the political process. He was formerly
General Counsel to the Republican National Committee, and currently
represents the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the National
Republican Congressional Committee. He also serves as Counsel to the
Republican Governors Association. Mr. Ginsberg recently served as
National Counsel to the Romney for President campaign and previously
served as National Counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign in
2000 and 2004. He received an A.B. from the University of Pennsylvania
and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.
Brian Britton, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Brian Britton is currently the Vice President of Global Park Operations
and Initiatives at Walt Disney World Company. He joined Disney in 1999
and was previously the Vice President of Labor Operations, Operations
Strategy, and Operations Support. He is a board member of Community
Based Care of Central Florida, a non-profit organization that manages
Central Florida's foster care program, and a board member for the
Florida Attractions Association, a tourism industry trade association.
Mr. Britton is a Navy veteran and a former Naval Aviator. He received a
B.S. in Systems Engineering from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master's
degree equivalent in the theory and operation of avionic systems in
Naval Flight Officer School, and an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School.
Joe Echevarria, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Joe Echevarria has served as Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte LLP
since June 2011. Mr. Echevarria joined Deloitte in 1978 and became an
audit partner in 1988. Since that time, he has held a wide range of
leadership positions, most recently as U.S. Managing Partner for
Operations. As part of his current role, Mr. Echevarria chairs the U.S.
Executive Committee, and is a member of the U.S. Board of Directors,
the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited Board, and the Americas Executive
Committee. Mr. Echevarria serves on the Board of Trustees and chairs
the University of Miami School of Business’s Board of Overseers. He
received a B.A. in Business Administration from the University of Miami.
Trey Grayson, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Trey Grayson is currently the Director of the Institute of Politics at
the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Mr.
Grayson previously served as Secretary of State for Kentucky, elected in
2003 and re-elected in 2007. Prior to his election, Mr. Grayson
practiced law at the law firms of Greenebaum Doll & McDonald and
Keating Muething & Klekamp. Mr. Grayson has served as the president
of the National Association of Secretaries of State (NASS), chair of
the NASS Elections Committee, and vice chair of the NASS Committee on
Voter Participation. He received an A.B. from Harvard College, and a
J.D. and M.B.A. from the University of Kentucky.
Larry Lomax, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Larry Lomax is currently the Clark County Registrar in Nevada, a
position he has held since 1999. Mr. Lomax serves as Nevada’s
representative to the Election Assistance Commission’s Standards Board,
was elected by the board’s members to the Standards Board Executive
Board, and served on a Pew Foundation Committee focused on modernizing
our nation’s system of registering voters. He previously served as
Assistant Registrar in Clark County from 1998 to 1999. Prior to working
in Clark County, Mr. Lomax was a Professor of Leadership and Ethics at
the Air War College. As a former Air Force pilot, he accumulated over
4,000 hours of flying time in a 30-year career. He served two tours on
the Joint Staff in Washington D.C. and was chosen to serve as the Air
Force Colonel on the staff group supporting the Chairman of the Joint
Chiefs of Staff. Mr. Lomax received a B.A. from Stanford University and
an M.B.A. from the University of North Dakota. He is a Distinguished
Graduate from the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School.
Michele Coleman Mayes, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Michele Coleman Mayes is currently Vice President, General Counsel, and
Secretary for the New York Public Library (NYPL). Ms. Mayes joined
NYPL in August 2012 after serving as Executive Vice President and
General Counsel for Allstate Insurance Company since 2007. She served
as a Senior Vice President and the General Counsel of Pitney Bowes Inc.
from 2003 to 2007 and in several legal capacities at Colgate-Palmolive
from 1992 to 2003. In 1982, Ms. Mayes entered the corporate sector as
managing attorney of Burroughs Corporation. After Burroughs and Sperry
Corporation merged, creating Unisys Corporation, she was appointed Staff
Vice President and Associate General Counsel for Worldwide Litigation.
From 1976 through 1982, she served in the U.S. Department of Justice as
an Assistant United States Attorney in Detroit and Brooklyn, eventually
assuming the role of Chief of the Civil Division in Detroit. Ms. Mayes
received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from the
University of Michigan Law School.
Ann McGeehan, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Ann McGeehan is currently the Assistant General Counsel of the Texas
County and District Retirement System. Previously, she served 22 years
in the Elections Division of the Texas Secretary of State’s Office,
including as the Director of Elections from 1995 to 2011 and the
Director of the Elections Legal Section from 1991 to 1995. Ms. McGeehan
is a past president of the National Association of State Election
Directors, and a former member of the U.S. Election Assistance
Commission Standards Board and Technical Guidelines Development
Committee. Ms. McGeehan also served on an advisory group to the Pew
Center on the States’ Election Initiative. She received a B.A. from the
University of Texas and a J.D. from the University of Texas School of
Law.
Tammy Patrick, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Tammy Patrick is currently a Federal Compliance Officer for the
Maricopa County Elections Department in Arizona. In 2013, she became a
voting member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers’
working group on developing standards for a universal format for
election results reporting. She is also a representative on the
Mailer’s Technical Advisory Committee to the U.S. Post Office and serves
as the co-chair of the Postal Task Force for the Election Center. She
has previously served as a member of the Election Assistance
Commission’s working group on Language Assistance for Unwritten
Language, as an organizer of the 2007 Native American Voter Outreach
Summit, and as a member of the Election Center’s National Task Force on
Education and Training. Ms. Patrick received her B.A. from Purdue
University.
Christopher Thomas, Appointee for Member, Presidential Commission on Election Administration
Christopher Thomas is the Director of Elections in the Michigan
Department of State, a position he has held since 1981. Mr. Thomas also
teaches election law as an Adjunct Professor at the Thomas M. Cooley
Law School in Lansing, Michigan. From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Thomas served
as Director of Campaign Finance Information and Director of Campaign
Finance Operations for the State of Michigan. Mr. Thomas served as the
Director of Public Communications at the Federal Election Commission
from 1975 to 1977. He began his election administration career in 1974
in Washington, D.C. where he was a Staff Assistant responsible for
managing campaign finance filings in the Office of the Clerk of the U.S.
House of Representatives. Mr. Thomas is a founding member of the
National Association of State Election Directors and currently serves as
President. Mr. Thomas has served on the Board of Advisors to the
Election Assistance Commission since 2005. He received a B.A. from
Michigan State University, an M.A. from St. Louis University, and a J.D.
from the Thomas M. Cooley Law School.