NY Times: Republicans Hijack an Election Agency

In late January, against prior policy, the commission’s (Election Assistance Commission)
new executive director, Brian Newby, granted the requests of three states — Kansas, Georgia
and Alabama — to include the proof­of­citizenship requirement for state
elections as a state­specific add­on to the federal form. He did this without
consulting any of the three commissioners.
Before joining the commission, Mr. Newby was a county elections official
in Kansas, where he was a close ally of Mr. Kobach. In 2014, Mr. Newby’s
predecessor at the E.A.C. rejected the requests by Kansas and other states for a
proof­of­citizenship requirement because they failed to show a need for
heightened proof. She also noted that the Federal Court of Appeals for the 10th
Circuit upheld that decision, and the Supreme Court declined to review it.
Mr. Newby’s defense of his action is hard to take seriously. He said that
his reversal of the commission’s precedent was merely an administrative fix
and therefore did not need a vote of the commissioners.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/11/opinion/republicans-hijack-an-election-agency.html?emc=edit_th_20160411&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=70251688