{"id":10301,"date":"2026-05-28T21:32:44","date_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:32:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301"},"modified":"2026-05-28T21:32:44","modified_gmt":"2026-05-28T21:32:44","slug":"elections-2026-heres-how-a-federal-election-official-views-california-ahead-of-the-june-2-primary","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301","title":{"rendered":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Looking back, Christy McCormick was destined to work in elections.<\/p>\n

She grew up watching her parents become heavily involved in political campaigns \u2014 they were, she recalled, one of the first families to hold a fundraiser for former Secretary of State John Kerry when he ran for U.S. Senate in the 1980s. And, later, she began her career by heeding a call from the Town Clerk of East Haven, Connecticut, who was looking for people to help register local voters.<\/p>\n

Read more Gaza mourns 10 killed in Eid strikes as Netanyahu vows wider control of the strip<\/a><\/p>\n

Related: Life of a ballot: How Orange County\u2019s votes are counted, verified and stored<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now, McCormick, serves as vice chair of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission, a bipartisan federal agency that aids local officials in improving elections and ensures that voting equipment across the country is safe and secure.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s what brought McCormick to Orange County on a recent afternoon, for a tour of how the registrar\u2019s office collects, processes and counts ballots. When the tour was over the Republican official had nothing but praise for the local election administration.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis jurisdiction is consistently at the forefront for ideas, innovation and excellence, and constantly works to find ways to improve election procedures and processes,\u201d McCormick said. \u201cIt serves as a model for election officers across the country.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the EAC, four commissioners \u2014 nominated by the president based on recommendations from congressional leadership \u2014 provide training to election workers around the country. They also compile a massive state-by-state analysis of every election that includes voter registration statistics, the number of polling places, how many ballots were rejected, the ways ballots were cast, and more.<\/p>\n

The EAC also creates certification standards for election technology \u2014 think poll books (the electronic list of registered voters) and election night reporting systems \u2014 as well as testing and certifying voting equipment across the country.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

McCormick joined the EAC in 2014, nominated by President Barack Obama and backed by Republican Sen. Mitch McConnell. At the time she had spent much of the previous decade working in the U.S. Department of Justice on voting issues in the department\u2019s Civil Rights Division. McCormick was also selected to work at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, in 2009, where she oversaw Iraq\u2019s national elections \u2014 and the extensive recount effort.<\/p>\n

With all that in mind, we chatted with McCormick, now a Pasadena resident, about her job and about California elections. Her responses are lightly edited for brevity and clarity.<\/p>\n

Q: There are often questions about how California conducts its elections \u2014 every registered voter is mailed a ballot, an ID isn\u2019t necessarily required to cast a ballot, and the top two vote-getters advance in the primary, regardless of party affiliation, for example. The EAC does a lot, but does it have a hand in how California conducts its elections?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We don\u2019t. Obviously, that\u2019s in the Constitution, that the states and the localities run the elections, and so every state has its own rules and procedures.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

I think it\u2019s interesting that most people will trust their own way that elections are run, but not the way other states run their elections. There are a lot of questions in the country about California, and even within California by jurisdiction, there are questions about how L.A. does their elections, or how San Diego does theirs.<\/p>\n

Q: What\u2019s a common misconception you often hear about elections as you travel the country?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Read more In new memoir, Jill Biden wonders whether acknowledging Joe\u2019s poor debate would have been better<\/a><\/p>\n

A: People don\u2019t understand the complexity of what it takes to run an election. You walk into a warehouse, and it\u2019s overwhelming to see how much equipment you have to keep updated, how many people it takes, all the different ballot styles.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re voting in a different supervisor race than somebody else, or in some places in the country, you\u2019re voting for the fire department, a utility district, schools, judges. There are so many different ballot styles that all have to be tracked. And just the whole process of securing all that. You get a county the size of L.A. or Orange County, you\u2019re talking millions and millions of pieces of paper and then auditing those pieces of paper to make sure that your results are correct, and there\u2019s no room for error. You have to get it right.<\/p>\n

Q: What else is important for people to know about elections?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: I wish they understood how much funding it takes. It takes a lot of money to run an election, and we do not have a good, single source of funding for elections in the country.<\/p>\n

Q: In your opinion, are voting machines secure?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

We have never had an incident to show that the machines have actually been a cause of any fraud.<\/p>\n

They are very secure, and we run a secure system. That doesn\u2019t mean there aren\u2019t opportunities for people \u2014 and people won\u2019t try to find places that they can do things \u2014 and anything we can do to boost voter confidence is a good thing.<\/p>\n

Q: Tell us more about your job. What exactly does the Election Assistance Commission do?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We cover the entire country and the territories. We speak with the election officials, we provide training, and we also try to visit as many jurisdictions as we can to work with them on improving elections and spreading good ideas.<\/p>\n

We are also responsible for testing and certifying all the voting equipment across the country. We accredit laboratories, and we set the guidelines with some federally-appointed committees. We have a baseline of requirements that all the machines in the country have to meet. There are thousands of points that they get tested on in these laboratories before they\u2019ll get certified by our agency. That is a voluntary program; not every state signs onto it, but about 40 or so states will use our process or some part of our process to decide which voting equipment they\u2019re going to use.<\/p>\n

(Editor\u2019s note: California state law requires its secretary of state to approve all voting systems and does not opt in to the EAC\u2019s program. However, the state\u2019s own process for approving its voting systems , a spokesperson for the agency noted.)<\/em><\/p>\n

We have some teams that can go out to the jurisdictions and help them verify that no one has tried to hack the machines or compromise the machines in any way. We provide them with physical security and cybersecurity.<\/p>\n

We also have a group dedicated to the election supporting technology, things like the electronic poll books, electronic ballot delivery and election night reporting systems. We\u2019re setting up national certification standards for those. They had never had certification standards in the past.<\/p>\n

Q: How does one become an EAC commissioner?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

A: We have four commissioners. There are two Democrats and two Republicans.<\/p>\n

Once the leaders of Congress identify the persons whom they wish to serve on the commission, that goes to the president. They go through a huge background check, do all kinds of interviews with people who\u2019ve known you over your life \u2014 the whole presidential appointment process. The president nominates, and then we go through a confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate, and then the Senate has to confirm us. It\u2019s a long process.<\/p>\n

Read more Gio Reyna and Joe Scally bring a close bond forged in Germany to US World Cup roster<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“We have never had an incident to show that the machines have actually been a cause of any fraud.” Christy McCormick, vice chair of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10300,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[43,2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10301","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-based-on-facts-either-observed-and-verified-directly-by-the-reporter-or-reported-and-verified-from-knowledgeable-sources","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nElections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\""We have never had an incident to show that the machines have actually been a cause of any fraud." Christy McCormick, vice chair of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"headline\":\"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301\"},\"wordCount\":1276,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.\",\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301\",\"name\":\"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp\",\"width\":1024,\"height\":658},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?p=10301#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Silicon Valley Moving Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post","og_description":"\"We have never had an incident to show that the machines have actually been a cause of any fraud.\" Christy McCormick, vice chair of the U.S. Elections Assistance Commission.","og_url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301","og_site_name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","article_published_time":"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"headline":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary","datePublished":"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301"},"wordCount":1276,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp","articleSection":["Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.","News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301","name":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary - Silicon Valley Moving Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp","datePublished":"2026-05-28T21:32:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/d1bcc29d6c4331a8fd593b64b23fa683.webp","width":1024,"height":658},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=10301#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Elections 2026: Here\u2019s how a federal election official views California ahead of the June 2 primary"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/","name":"Silicon Valley Moving Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/636e2e5a10a21cf87fe6eb5951e8a6b7","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com"],"url":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10301","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=10301"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10301\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/10300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=10301"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=10301"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=10301"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}