Christy McCormick nominated as U.S. ambassador to North Macedonia

Christy McCormick of California has been nominated to represent the United States as ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary to the Republic of North Macedonia. Her nomination must receive Senate approval by the end of December. The American lawyer has many years of experience in the federal government, protecting voting rights, organizing and overseeing elections, and strengthening the rule of law. She has held positions at the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and the U.S. Embassy in Iraq.

After her nomination by then-President Barack Obama, the U.S. Senate unanimously confirmed McCormick on December 16, 2014, to serve on the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). She has chaired the commission twice. According to her official biography, McCormick is also the designated federal officer for the Technical Guidelines Development Committee.

At the commission, McCormick led its restructuring after it had operated for several years without commissioners. She organized its first election data summit and its first summit on equal access to elections, where particular attention was paid to language issues. Her work included meetings with voters and lawmakers across the United States, as well as observing elections in almost every U.S. state.

In 2009–2010, following a decision by the U.S. deputy attorney general, McCormick worked at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad as a senior legal adviser and acting deputy coordinator for the rule of law. As the U.S. elections expert, she oversaw Iraq’s national election process, including an extensive vote recount. McCormick also took part in numerous U.S. and international coalition initiatives to strengthen the rule of law and Iraq’s legal institutions.

From 2006 until her appointment to the Election Assistance Commission, she was a senior attorney in the Voting Rights Section of the Civil Rights Division at the U.S. Department of Justice. There, she worked on legal action against violations of federal provisions prohibiting discrimination in elections. Her experience also includes constitutional rights, equality before the law and the protection of civil rights.

Before joining the Justice Department, McCormick was a law clerk to Judge Elizabeth A. McClanahan on the Virginia Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2006. Earlier, from 2001 to 2003, she served in the Virginia Attorney General’s Office as an assistant attorney general and assistant to the state’s chief legal representative.

During that period, McCormick was part of legal teams that represented the state before the U.S. Supreme Court, including in Black v. Virginia and Hicks v. Virginia. Those cases concerned criminal provisions and constitutional challenges related to the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. She also worked on cases heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. She began her legal career as a law clerk to judges in Virginia’s Seventh Judicial Circuit Court, where she worked from 1999 to 2001.

McCormick’s experience spans elections, civil rights, law enforcement and the functioning of democratic institutions. Her work in Iraq and her roles in U.S. federal institutions are significant parts of her career before her nomination to represent the United States in Skopje.