Cleta Mitchell, Who Alleged 2020 Voter Fraud, Appointed to Election Assistance Commission

An attorney who participated in former President Donald Trump‘s post-election phone call with Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has been appointed to the Board of Advisors of the Elections Assistance Commission (EAC).

Cleta Mitchell has been a key figure in pushing claims of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election and will now serve on the EAC’s Board of Advisors following her appointment on November 3.

The appointment was reported on Twitter by Jessica Huseman, editorial director of Votebeat, who shared a screenshot showing an email the EAC had sent about the matter on Monday.

“She was appointed effective November 3, but the EAC just announced her nomination today—12 days later—in an email to stakeholders. Her term lasts until 2023,” Huseman wrote.

The EAC was established under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002 and its website says it is “an independent, bipartisan commission” that is responsible for developing guidance to meet HAVA requirements and “adopting voluntary voting system guidelines.”

Huseman noted on Twitter that the EAC’s Board of Advisors “has almost no authority.” Mitchell was nominated to the EAC’s Board of Supervisors by the United States Commission on Civil Rights (USCCR), another body with little authority.

Breaking: Cleta Mitchell — an attorney who who was integral in helping Trump craft the false narrative he won the 2020 election — has been named to the board of advisors for the Election Assistance Commission. pic.twitter.com/aerONsu1tD

— Jessica Huseman (@JessicaHuseman) November 15, 2021

Mitchell was on the January 2 phone call with Trump and Raffensperger, who is a Republican, where the former president told the Georgia secretary of state: “I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.”

Raffensperger refused to comply with Trump’s request and has repeatedly defended the integrity of his state’s election. Audio of that call was later released to the press.

President Joe Biden won the state of Georgia and was awarded its Electoral College votes but Trump has continued to maintain there was fraud in 2020 that cost him the election.

Mitchell has also maintained there was voter fraud, telling The New Yorker in comments published on August 9 that when it came to Georgia: “I don’t think we can say with certainty who won.”

“I believe there were more illegal votes cast than the margin of victory,” Mitchell said. “The only remedy is a new election.”

Documents released by the Arizona State Senate show Mitchell was also involved in helping to fund an election audit in Maricopa County, conducted by the firm Cyber Ninjas. The audit did not find evidence of widespread fraud and affirmed Biden’s win in the county.

The EAC issued a statement on Monday that did not directly address Mitchell’s appointment but pointed to the fact that a wide variety of organizations are able to make such appointments under HAVA.

“The 2002 Help America Vote Act, which established the U.S Election Assistance Commission (EAC), also created a Board of Advisors to the EAC serving a variety of discretionary functions, including review of the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines and other advisory duties,” the statement said.

“The EAC does not make or approve appointments to the 35-member Board of Advisors. Board members are directly appointed by a wide variety of organizations, including but not limited to the National Governors Association, National Conference of State Legislatures, United States Conference of Mayors, and the United States Commission on Civil Rights.”

Newsweek has asked the EAC and the USCCR for comment.

UPDATE 11/16/21 7:02 a.m. E.T.: This article was updated to include a new picture.

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