U.S. ELECTION ASSISTANCE COMMISSION 

1335 East West Highway – Suite 4300 

Silver Spring, MD 20910 

MEMORANDUM 

TO: Commissioners McCormick, Hovland, Hicks and Palmer 

FROM: Donald Palmer, Commissioner 

THROUGH: Clifford Tatum 

General Counsel 

DATE: October 15, 2019 

RE: Adoption of 2019 EAC Succession Plan 

Background 

With vacancies in leadership scheduled for October 23, 2019, it is vitally important to 

have interim or acting leadership for continuity of EAC operations. There is the high 

possibility of concurrent vacancies, occurring at the same time, in the positions of 

Executive Director and General Counsel. 

The 2015 Organizational Management Policy Statement passed by the Commission 

details the division of roles and responsibilities of Commissioners and the Executive 

Director. Part III of the policy details a succession plan under the organizational structure 

at that time that would be followed in situations where there was an Executive Director 

vacancy when there were no Commissioners. While instructive in the development of a 

continuity plan, there is no succession plan approved by the Commission for the current 

situation where the EAC has a quorum of Commissioners and a vacancy in the Executive 

Director and General Counsel positions. 

Order of Succession Approved by the Commission 

With the potential pending vacancies of Executive Director and General Counsel, an 

order of succession is necessary so that the responsibilities of the Executive Director of 

the agency may be carried out until an individual can be appointed by the Commission to 

serve as Interim Director or to a term as Executive Director. The Office of Legal Counsel 

(OLC) in an informal opinion documented by the EAC’s General Counsel and shared 

with the Commissioners on August 20, 2019, advised the EAC of the necessity for a 
 

 

 

 

 

 

succession plan.1 National Security Presidential Directive 51 was directly referenced in a 

previous line of succession plan, developed and implemented by then Acting Executive 

Director Mark Robbins on January 3, 2012. Homeland Security Federal Continuity 

Directive (FCD) I (February, 2008) also states that an agency "is responsible for 

establishing, promulgating, and maintaining orders of succession to key positions.” As a 

minimum, orders of succession must establish an order of succession for the position of 

agency head to ensure a designated official is available to serve as acting Organization 

Head until an official is appointed (FCD 1). These orders of succession must also comply 

with the Vacancies Reform Act of 1998, as amended (5 U.S.C. § 3345-3349d). Within 

each order of succession, organizations must include a minimum of three positions 

(rather than names) permitted to succeed to the identified leadership position. 

The EAC order of succession developed previously by then Acting Executive Director 

Robbins, named the Chief Operating Officer (COO) as the next in line as the designated 

agency head. The COO is the same position listed as the successor to the Executive 

Director and General Counsel in the 2015 Organizational Management Policy document. 

During that time, the EAC’s COO served in this line of succession, carrying out the 

duties of the EAC Executive Director. However, at this time, the EAC does not have a 

COO and the position is currently vacant. With the importance of the security of our 

systems and networks, the Information and Technology Department is led by the Chief 

Information Officer (CIO) position, a statutory required position for federal agencies. The 

Director of Testing and Certification leads arguably the most important division of the 

EAC and serves a primary function of HAVA. Accordingly, it is in the best interest of the 

agency for the Commission to establish the following line of succession. 

The line of succession will be as follows: 

1. Executive Director (Vacancy Expected October 23, 2019) 

2. General Counsel (Vacancy Expected October 23, 2019) 

3. Chief Operating Officer (Vacancy Expected to Continue through October 23, 

2019) 

4. Chief Information and Security Officer 

5. Director of Research 

6. Director of Testing and Certification2 

Additional Explanation of Chief Operating Officer (COO) 

This succession plan is adopted to reflect the organization and its structure as of October 

15, 2019. The position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) is not currently filled by an 

individual and is vacant. However, it is intent of the Commission that the position of 

Chief Operating Officer (COO) will be filled by the Commission, and that individual will 

assume the duties of Acting Executive Director until a new Executive Director is 

1 National Security Presidential Directive 51 

2 As per FCD-1, Orders of Succession must include an individual who is geographically dispersed, when 

feasible. 
approved to a term of four years. In the interim, the succession plan will operate with 

existing employees and agency structure.