Today, Commissioner Donald Palmer began his year-long term as Chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Commissioner Thomas Hicks will serve as Vice Chair. They continue to serve alongside EAC Commissioners Christy McCormick and Ben Hovland.
“I am honored to continue the EAC’s important work supporting our nation’s election officials as Chairman. 2025 presents the agency with a great opportunity to increase the integrity of election-related technology and advance the next generation of election equipment," stated Chairman Palmer. “Over the next 12 months, the EAC will continue to bolster voting security through best practices for election audits, voter list accuracy, and the implementation of the EAC’s newly updated Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG). The agency will also focus on workforce professional development and training opportunities to improve the administration of federal elections. Nearly 2,000 election officials in 44 states have already participated in EAC training covering topics from effective poll worker training to enhancing accessibility and election security. I look forward to working with the agency’s skilled staff and promoting the election administration heroes who represent the backbone of our democracy.”
Chairman Palmer identified the following areas he would like to build on as priorities for the agency in the coming year, including:
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Continuing progress toward voting systems being certified to the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0 so Americans can see these new systems in their communities in the years to come. This implementation will help facilitate the increased use of paper ballots and transparency of records to give additional confidence in the accuracy of election results.
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Establishing professional standards for election audits in different areas of elections to promote transparency and strengthen voter trust and confidence in the electoral process.
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Continuing to research and support states in their efforts to maintain accurate voter registration rolls in compliance with the National Voter Registration Act.
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Prioritizing professional training to advance operational excellence in election administration and empower the next generation of election officials with the knowledge and tools they need to run safe, secure, accurate, and accessible elections.
Chairman Palmer assumes this role in place of outgoing Chairman Ben Hovland, whose term spanned February 2024 through February 2025.
“As I reflect on 2024, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude. This year has been a defining chapter in the shared mission of the EAC to support election officials and uphold the integrity of our electoral system,” said outgoing Chairman Hovland. “In the lead-up to the November elections, the agency focused on our core mission of assisting and connecting election officials, producing customizable resources and training videos, and sharing best practices from across the country. Despite natural disasters and other challenges, the underlying infrastructure proved resilient due to years of dedication, preparation, and planning by election officials. The EAC thanks election officials for their partnership, and unwavering commitment to this shared mission to serve voters.”
About Chairman Donald Palmer
Donald L. Palmer was nominated by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed by unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on January 2, 2019, appointed to serve as a commissioner. In February 2025, Mr. Palmer begins a year-long rotation as Chairman.
During his first term as EAC Chairman, Mr. Palmer and the Commission instituted a standards development and testing process to establish security, functionality, and accessibility standards for electronic poll books, part of a larger EAC testing program. Considering the importance of voting technologies in HAVA, the agency developed the Election Supporting Technology Evaluation Program (ESTEP) for the testing of election supporting technology, including electronic poll books, ballot delivery, and election night reporting. Commissioner Palmer provided leadership in the updating of the EAC testing program manual to include penetration testing requirements for testing campaigns of all voting systems submitted to EAC-accredited laboratories.
Mr. Palmer has served as the DFO of the EAC’s Standards Board and the Board of Advisors on different occasions, and the Technical Guidelines Development Committee (TGDC) during the implementation phase of Voluntary Voter System Guidelines (VVSG) 2.0, including the adoption of the EAC Lifecycle Policy for the transition to a new generation of voting systems.
Mr. Palmer is a former Bipartisan Policy Center Fellow where he advanced the recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Election Administration. Mr. Palmer is a former Secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections and served as the Commonwealth’s Chief Election Official from 2011 to 2014. During his tenure, he implemented an online voter registration system and testing program to review the security and usability of voting systems and electronic poll books. He was a state leader in interstate registration data-sharing, exchanging voter registration information to maintain accurate voter registration lists. He also served as Florida’s Director of Elections where he successfully transitioned the state from electronic voting machines to paper-based digital voting machines prior to the 2008 presidential election and expanded the Florida voting system state certification program.
Prior to his work in election administration, he served as a trial attorney with the Voting Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where he enforced the nation’s federal voting laws, including HAVA and the Voting Rights Act. Palmer is a military veteran, retiring from the U.S. Navy after two decades as an intelligence officer and judge advocate general.
Mr. Palmer earned his J.D. at the Stetson University College of Law and his master’s degree at George Washington University.