WASHINGTON—Don Palmer joined The Heritage Foundation as a senior legal fellow for election integrity within Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government.  

In his role, Palmer will focus on providing insight and common-sense solutions for the current threats and challenges facing the nation’s electoral process.

Before joining, Palmer served as commissioner and chairman of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) after being nominated by President Trump and confirmed by unanimous consent of the Senate in 2019. During his tenure, the EAC adopted enhanced security and accuracy standards for the nation’s voting systems.  

Palmer also has served as a senior election official in two states. First as the director of elections in Florida, and later as the secretary of the Virginia State Board of Elections.  

Prior to his work in election administration, Palmer served as a trial attorney with the Voting Section in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, where he investigated and enforced the nation’s voting laws.

Cully Stimson, acting director for Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government, made the following statement:

“We are delighted to welcome Don Palmer to the Heritage Foundation to continue our vital work in election integrity. Don has invaluable experience at the federal and state level overseeing election policy and practices, which allows him to hit the ground running.”

Palmer added the following:

“It's an honor to join the esteemed Heritage Foundation. My hope is to fight every day to explain to citizens how we can improve and defend the integrity of American elections.

“Serving at the Heritage Foundation provides me with a unique opportunity to highlight innovative approaches to strengthening our elections, while finding new ways to increase the integrity of the voting process and improve voter confidence.”