EAC Hires New Executive Director and General Counsel

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC)is almost back at full strength with the announcement that Brian Newby has been appointed the agency’s Executive Director and Cliff Tatum has been named General Counsel.

The EAc was established by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 (HAVA). EAC is an independent, bipartisan commission charged with developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements, adopting voluntary voting system guidelines, and serving as a national clearinghouse of information on election administration. EAC also accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, as well as audits the use of HAVA funds.

Mr. Newby served as the Election Commissioner in Johnson County, Kansas for the last eleven years. Newby serves on the Election Center Legislative Committee, is a member of the International Association of Clerks, Recorders, and Election Officials and is a former board member of the National Association of County Records, Election Officials, and Clerks. A Kansas City, Missouri native, Newby holds a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Missouri-Kansas City and a bachelor’s degree in communications studies from the same school.

Mr. Tatum spent the last four years at the DC Board of Elections serving as Executive Director. Tatum previously served as the Interim Director of the Georgia State Elections Division and as an Assistant Director of Legal Affairs for the Georgia Secretary of State. Previously, Tatum was an active trial attorney practicing commercial and general litigation in Atlanta, Georgia. He also served as Deputy Solicitor General for the City of East Point in the State of Georgia. Tatum is an alumnus of Thomas M. Cooley Law School and has a degree in Administration of Justice from Guilford College in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Newby and Tatum are well-known to their colleagues across the nation and are well-positioned to continue the work already begun by the three current EAC Commissioners.

The appointments come just in time for the EAC to kick into even higher gear for the 2016 election – a crucial period not just for election officials across the nation but also the EAC itself.

Now all we need is that fourth Commissioner.











NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker