{"success":true,"data":{"id":"8498f927-3d21-48db-aed2-1d52f38caf82","title":"Trump launches ‘pathetic power grab’ to derail midterms after firing election commissioners, voting groups say","summary":"Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent Notifications can be managed in browser preferences. Not now Yes please US Edition Change Support Now × \"Clear search box\") Custom Search Sort by Relevance Date NewsNews World CupWorld Cup SportsSports CultureCulture LifestyleLifestyle MoneyMon...","content":"## Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent\n\nNotifications can be managed in browser preferences.\n\nNot now Yes please\n\nUS Edition Change\n\nSupport Now\n\n[×](javascript:void(0) \"Clear search box\")\n\nCustom Search\n\nSort by\n\nRelevance\n\nDate\n\n*   News[News](https://www.independent.co.uk/us)\n\n*   World Cup[World Cup](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/world-cup)\n\n*   Sports[Sports](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport)\n\n*   Culture[Culture](https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment)\n\n*   Lifestyle[Lifestyle](https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style)\n\n*   Money[Money](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/money)\n\n*   Travel[Travel](https://www.independent.co.uk/us/travel)\n\n*   Premium[Premium](https://www.independent.co.uk/independentpremium)\n\nMore\n\nMore\n\n### Thank you for registering\n\nPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in Please refresh your browser to be logged in\n\n# Trump launches ‘pathetic power grab’ to derail midterms after firing election commissioners, voting groups say\n\n## Officials who run the nation’s elections sound the alarm over the president’s ‘dangerous’ purge of an independent commission\n\n[Alex Woodward](https://www.independent.co.uk/author/alex-woodward)in New York Friday 10 July 2026 21:40 BST\n\n*   Copy link  \n*   Bookmark  \n*   [2 Comments](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-election-commissioners-midterm-elections-b3012936.html#comments-area)Go to comments  \n\n## Bookmark popover\n\nRemoved from bookmarks\n\nClose popover\n\nClose\n\nPowered By\n\n10 Sec\n\n6.6K\n\n0\n\nTrump defends Democrat Graham Platner after sexual assault allegations: ‘A lot of people say big falsehoods’\n\nNext video in\n\nNext\n\nKEEP WATCHING\n\n### Your support helps us to tell the story\n\nFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.\n\nAt such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.\n\nThe Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.\n\n**Your support makes all the difference.**\n\nVoting rights groups and election officials are sounding alarms after President [Donald Trump](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/donald-trump)[abruptly pushed out](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-eac-commissioners-terminated-midterm-elections-b3012461.html)the three remaining members of an independent agency tasked with supporting officials who run the nation's elections.\n\nThe president’s latest firings leave the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission without any active members less than four months before midterm elections with the [balance of power](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-platner-allegations-maine-democrats-b3011570.html \"Trump says Platner is ‘in a bind’ after sexual assault allegation but it depends if you ‘believe the woman’\") in Congress — and [the future of Trump’s agenda](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-housing-bill-voter-id-b3012702.html \"Trump shreds ‘DUMB’ Republicans with three-word barb and leaves housing bill unsigned in fit over voter ID\") — at stake.\n\nA Republican appointee on the four-member panel resigned, while the remaining two Democratic appointees reportedly received termination emails from the White House. A fourth commissioner left the panel earlier this year.\n\nNevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, the chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, said Trump’s latest firings are “incredibly irresponsible.”\n\nPublic Citizen, a nonprofit consumer advocacy group engaged in several legal battles with the Trump administration, bluntly called the president’s firings a “pathetic power grab.”\n\nRECOMMENDED\n\n[](https://www.independent.co.uk/world/trump-spain-nato-summit-pedro-sanchez-b3011985.html)[Why Donald Trump keeps picking fights with Spain (and why they don’t care)](https://www.independent.co.uk/world/trump-spain-nato-summit-pedro-sanchez-b3011985.html \"Why Donald Trump keeps picking fights with Spain (and why they don’t care)\")\n\n[](https://track.tracklead.org/cf/r/6a3b0b6ed118530012c19b01)[South Carolina Senior Drivers Surprised By This CoverageQuotes | [Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)[Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)](https://track.tracklead.org/cf/r/6a3b0b6ed118530012c19b01 \"South Carolina Senior Drivers Surprised By This\")\n\n[](https://track.tracklead.org/cf/r/6a3b0b6ed118530012c19b01)[Senior Drivers In South Carolina May Be Entitled to These Savings CoverageQuotes | [Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)[Sponsored](https://popup.taboola.com/en/?template=colorbox&utm_source=eslmedia-theindependent&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=alternating-thumbnails-stream-1x4:Mid%20Article%20Thumbnails%20II:)](https://track.tracklead.org/cf/r/6a3b0b6ed118530012c19b01 \"Senior Drivers In South Carolina May Be Entitled to These Savings\")\n\nopen image in gallery\n\nState officials are sounding alarms after Trump purged the remaining members of an independent agency tasked with supporting states as they run the nation’s elections, which critics fear marks the president’s latest attempt to strong-arm control of midterms(AFP/Getty)\n\nThe Supreme Court’s recent decision in a landmark case granted Trump the authority to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission member, [opening the door for the president to radically reshape independent agencies,](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-power-supreme-court-monarchy-250-b3007823.html)including the Election Assistance Commission.\n\nThe commission, which was established by the Help America Vote Act more than 20 years ago, operates largely behind the scenes performing the routine work of distributing grants and election security support.\n\nWithout any commissioners on the panel, that work is effectively paralyzed.\n\nBut the panel has played a critical role in the president’s attempts to [assume federal control over the nation’s elections](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-arrest-election-officials-immigrants-b3011484.html). His 2025 executive order pushed the commission to implement proof of citizenship on voter registration forms and deny funding to states that that didn’t receive mail-in ballots by Election Day. That executive order and another targeting election administration have been blocked by the courts.\n\nTrump is gutting the agency “because he’s scared of the voting power of the American people,” according to Public Citizen co-president Lisa Gilbert. “This move is another pathetic attempt to sow doubt in our elections, which are safely and expertly run by states and localities.”\n\nWithout support from the commission, which plays a crucial role overseeing federal funding and voting system standards, election officials like secretaries of state are left without critical “support, stability and protection from political pressure,” according to the League of Women Voters.\n\n“The American people deserve elections administered by trusted professionals, not shaped by political interference,” Celina Stewart, CEO of the century-old voting rights group, said in a statement.\n\n“This is not a routine personnel decision — it is a dangerous escalation in the effort to weaken the safeguards that protect free and fair elections in the November midterms,” she said.\n\nArizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes called the move “irresponsible and dangerous,” and Oregon Secretary of State Tobias Read said the firings are yet another attempt by the Trump administration to “disrupt and sow distrust in our elections.”\n\n“Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference,” Sen. Alex Padilla and Rep. Joe Morelle said in a joint statement.\n\nThe Election Assistance Commission largely performs the routine work of helping states run elections, but the president is accused of weaponizing the panel as he tries to centralize control over election administration to boost his chances of Republican victories(AFP/Getty)\n\nAdvocates see the latest purge as part of a broader pattern of the president’s attempts to centralize control over election administration, which is left to the states, in an attempt to boost Republican candidates and [suppress Democratic turnout.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/voting-rights-map-jim-crow-black-tennessee-virginia-b2974432.html)\n\nTrump’s purge joins a series of White House-directed actions targeting the nation’s elections and the people who run them.\n\nThe administration — fueled by the president’s obsession with his loss in the 2020 election and baseless allegations that the results were rigged against him — has launched a sweeping attack on the nation’s election infrastructure since returning to office last year while Republican allies [carve up election maps](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/voting-rights-map-jim-crow-black-tennessee-virginia-b2974432.html) ahead of midterm elections this fall.\n\nA false claim that millions of noncitizens are voting in federal elections is fueling the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility Act, or SAVE America Act, and the president is calling on Republican senators to blow up the Senate filibuster and [stuff the legislation into other bills to get it passed.](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-citizenship-list-mail-in-ballots-b2998693.html)\n\nThe [Department of Justice](https://www.independent.co.uk/topic/department-of-justice-0) has also [threatened criminal charges](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-arrest-election-officials-immigrants-b3011484.html) against election officials in every state if they knowingly permit noncitizens to vote or remain on voter rolls.\n\nElection officials and voting rights groups fear the administration’s threats could intimidate election workers and chill voter participation.","source_name":"The Independent","source_url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-election-commissioners-midterm-elections-b3012936.html","url":"https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-election-commissioners-midterm-elections-b3012936.html","author":"Alex Woodward","author_name":"Alex Woodward","published_at":"2026-07-10T20:40:08.000Z","publication_date":"2026-07-10T20:40:08.000Z","image_url":"https://pl.primis.tech/live/liveView.php?hash=ozcmPTEznXRiPTEzqzyxX2V2ZW50PTUjJaNypaZypyRcoWU9MTp4MmplMmU2NSZ2nWRspGkurWVlVzVlPTMhMS4jJaM9MTE5ODA1JaN0YT0jJat9NwQjJax9NDQjJaZcZF9jYXNmRG9gYWyhPXq3ql5cozRypGVhZGVhqC5wol51nlZmqWJJZD0mMDElOTM2X3q3ql5cozRypGVhZGVhqC5wol51nlZxZWJ1Z0yhZz9loWF0nW9hPSZcp0FjpD0jJaNxn3Y9JaBfYXyfnXN0SWQ9MTY4OTxzpzx9NxM2OTp2NwU1Mmp0NwE3NDpmN0M3MmZCMmE3QwU0MmA3RDqCNwQmMwMjMmImNwJEMmAmNmJEMmEmMTVGMmAmMTqEN0I3MmMkMmpmMwM2MmpmNmM3MmI3RDqCNDMmMmMjN0Q3QwUmNEQ3QTQkNmt0RDZBNxI3QTRFNxMmOTMmNwQmMmYmNmU2MTU3MmU2QwVBNTt0MwZDNwI2RDUlNxM2MwZFNTE3NTU5MmImODp1NwQ1NmpmM0Q3RDqCNwI2MmY4NmI2RwZENwU3RDqCNmE2NDY1NmM2Qwp0NxY3MDqEN0I1ODM2MmQmMDqEN0I1OTM0MmQmMDqEN0I2NwMkN0Q3QwRDMmImMwMmMmpmODqERxVGRSZxnWFcZD0zY3VxnT1jnXAgTW1RnE1gUWuNq0xkTHqFnx10JTNEJTNEJaVmZXJVQT1No3ccoGkuJTJGNS4jJTIjJTI4WDEkJTNCJTIjTGyhqXtyMwB4ODZsNwQyMwxyMwBBpHBfZVqyYxgcqCUlRwUmNl4mNvUlMCUlOEgIVE1MJTJDJTIjoGyeZSUlMEqyY2giJTI5JTIjQ2ulo21yJTJGMTUjLwAhMC4jJTIjU2FzYXJcJTJGNTM3LwM2JzNmqXVcZD02YTUkNmYlYzI3N2EjJzNioaRyoaRGnWkySWQ9MCZgZWRcYVBfYXyMnXN0SWQ9MCZgZWRcYUkcp3RJZD0jJzqxpHI9MCZaZHBlQ29hp2VhqD0znXNXZVBup3NHZHBlPTEzY2NjYT0jJzNwpGFDo25mZW50PSZapHBDo25mZW50PSZapHBTnWQ9JzNvqXN0ZXI9MTp4MmplMmU2NTQlOCZ1nWQ9U2VenW5xo1NQoGF5ZXI2YTUkNmYlZDE2NWJvJaB1YyVloD1bqHRjplUmQSUlRvUlRaq3ql5cozRypGVhZGVhqC5wol51nlUlRz5yq3MyMxZ3o3JfZCUlRzFgZXJcY2FmJTJGqXMgpG9fnXRcY3MyMxZ0paVgpC1yoGVwqGyiov1wo21gnXNmnW9hZXJmLW1cZHRypz0gZWkyY3Rco25mLWImMDElOTM2Lzu0oWjzZzkiYXRTqGF0qXM9ZzFfp2UzZWyxp3A9pHJyYzyxJaB4nWQ9ZwEjZTt0ZTFzMwRxMDUkZzQlMmNyMmVvNzImMTquYTA=&stnaInterval=0","category":"politics","topic":"politics","tags":[],"political_bias":null,"bias_score":null,"confidence_score":null,"credibility_score":null,"factual_quality":null,"reading_time":7,"word_count":1254,"view_count":0,"breaking":false,"breaking_news":false,"ai_analysis":null,"fact_check_status":"unverified","archive_status":"hot"}}