Federal election panel lawyer said to brief Cleta Mitchell’s group as it pushed proof of citizenship

A lawyer for a key federal voting agency was scheduled to brief a top anti-voting group last fall while it was pressuring the agency to require proof of citizenship on the federal voter registration form.

A September 2025 email sent by the prominent anti-voting activist Cleta Mitchell to members of her group, the Election Integrity Network (EIN), advertised an “EAC update” by Heather Ford as part of the agenda for an upcoming call.

The email was obtained by ProPublica as part of its reporting on a recent meeting of anti-voting activists and administration officials. “EAC” refers to the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, which is charged with helping states administer smooth, fair, and secure elections.

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ProPublica’s recent story revealed troubling coordination between anti-voting activists, including Mitchell, and Trump administration officials. But the news that a lawyer for the EAC — a federal election agency intended to promote effective, apolitical election administration — also worked with Mitchell’s group raises additional questions.

Ford, a special counsel with the EAC since 2023 according to her LinkedIn profile, was to be joined on the EIN call by Heather Honey, an election conspiracy theorist who was appointed as Department of Homeland Security’s deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, and Missouri Secretary of State Denny Hoskins (R), according to Mitchell’s email.

At the time, EIN and other anti-voting groups were mobilizing their followers to pressure the EAC to add a documentary proof of citizenship requirement to the federal voter registration form. Right-wing activists flooded the EAC with tens of thousands of comments urging the agency to adopt the rule, which was proposed in a petition by the right-wing legal group America First Legal

An EAC spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether the briefing was appropriate.

Ford has been listed as a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association, a group of GOP election lawyers.

Mitchell played a key role in President Donald Trump’s bid to subvert the 2020 election. She joined the infamous call on which Trump pressed Georgia’s secretary of state to find him the votes needed to win. And her group, EIN, has been a leader in pushing for new voter suppression measures.

The EAC was established by Congress in 2002 through the Help America Vote Act as an independent agency to help states administer elections and certify voting equipment. The agency is run by a board of four commissioners — no more than two from the same political party — nominated by the president.

It’s not the first time a member of the EAC has courted controversy for partisan activities. In October, Democracy Docket exclusively reported on comments made by Christy McCormick, a Republican member of the commission. At a panel discussion on voting organized by the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute, McCormick said Democrats “need open borders, they need illegal citizens to increase their votes.”

Democratic senators and several state voting chiefs called for McCormick’s resignation, and a pro-democracy organization filed two formal complaints asking federal watchdogs to look into potential illegal actions. McCormick is still on the commission.