On May 16, a controversial Republican choice for the Federal Election Commission, Hans von Spakovsky, withdrew his name from consideration for one of the 4 vacant seats on the Federal Election Commission. Thanks to Rick Hasen for this news.

As a result, the U.S. Senate is likely to fill all the vacancies on the FEC by the end of May. The new Commission will almost certainly consist of these individuals:

Democrats: holdover appointee Ellen L. Weintraub; Cynthia L. Bauerly; and Steven T. Walther. Bauerly is from Minnesota and is a former Counsel to the Senate Judiciary Committee. Walther is from Nevada.

Republicans: Donald F. McGahn; Caroline C. Hunter; and a third name still to be determined. McGahn formerly represented Tom DeLay in election law court cases. Hunter was an attorney for the Republican National Committee in 2003; she oversaw the Republican lobbying effort to persuade states to relax their deadlines for parties to certify their presidential candidates. The 2004 Republican National Convention was so late in the year, 7 states had to be persuaded to relax their certification deadlines.