Brian Newby has landed a job as the top elections official in North Dakota after his term leading the U.S. Election Assistance Commission came to a controversial end.
North Dakota Secretary of State Alvin Jaeger has hired the former Johnson County election commissioner as the state’s elections director.
Jim Silrum, North Dakota’s deputy secretary of state, on Wednesday confirmed Newby’s hiring.
Silrum said Newby’s past at the Election Assistance Commission, where he was accused of voter suppression and mismanagement didn’t raise any red flags.
“We’re excited to be working with him,” Silrum said.
Newby started his new job on Monday. He is earning $76,800 a year.
Last September, the Election Assistance Commission didn’t extend Newby’s four-year term following years of controversy over voting rights and his management skills.
Already beset by questions over how he ran the Johnson County election office, Newby engendered more controversy in Washington when he let Kansas and two other states require proof of citizenship when registering to vote using a federal form.
Newby came under the scrutiny of powerful and influential members of Congress who not only blamed him for allegedly trying to keep African Americans from voting but also think he’s been a managerial mess.
Last summer, Politico reported that Newby was impeding election security work at the EAC as part of a story that raised overall questions about his management skills.
Quoting seven anonymous sources, Politico reported Newby also had “micromanaged employees’ interactions with partners outside the agency and routinely ignored staff questions.”
Jaeger was supportive of Newby’s work on the Election Assistance Commission, the federal agency charged with ensuring the smooth operation of elections nationally.
Jaeger wrote a letter last summer urging the EAC to extend Newby’s term as the commission’s executive director.
“The EAC is to be a bipartisan federal agency created to assist state and local election officials in the administration of federal elections,” Jaeger wrote. “Please do not let partisan influences tempt you to change from that mission.”
In an interview earlier this year, Newby stood by his work at the Election Assistance Commission.
He said he thought the commission’s decision not to extend his term was part of a strategy by congressional Democrats to drive him out, especially after gaining control of the House following the 2018 election.
“I don’t lack confidence in my abilities, and I think I have a pretty good track record of results,” he said.
Newby still has an ongoing legal fight with Johnson County over money he says he’s due for unpaid vacation and sick time.
