Ray Martinez was nominated by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2003 and confirmed by unanimous consent of the United States Senate on December 9, 2003 to serve a four-year term on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The EAC was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002, and is charged with providing guidance to state and local jurisdictions on various election reform requirements, and to oversee the distribution of Federal funds to improve the administration of Federal elections.
Prior to his appointment to the EAC, Ray was a practicing attorney in Austin, Texas, focusing primarily on government affairs and administrative law matters. His client base consisted mostly of county governments and other public entities. Concurrent with his law practice and as a community service, Ray also served as executive director and legal counsel of the Every Texan Foundation, a non-partisan voter registration and education effort dedicated to increasing voter participation in Texas.
Ray began his law practice after serving as Deputy Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Affairs at the White House. In this position, he was responsible for assisting former President Bill Clinton with various policy issues involving the nation's governors and other statewide elected officials. While on the White House staff, Ray also assisted with efforts to develop long-term strategies to stimulate economic growth along the U.S./Mexico border region and in establishing the U.S./Mexico Border Health Commission, now headquartered in El Paso, Texas.
Before serving as Deputy Assistant to the President, Ray served as Regional Director for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Dallas, where he focused agency resources on public health issues such as full implementation of the Children's Health Insurance Program. Ray's Federal government service began in 1993, when he was appointed as White House Liaison to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and later, as Special Assistant to the President in the White House Office of Political Affairs. Prior to his service in the Federal government, Ray worked as a legislative liaison for the Texas Attorney General's office, and on staff at the Texas Legislature.
A native of Alice, Texas, Ray, 39, received his law degree from the University of Houston Law Center and his bachelor's degree from Southwestern University. He is married to Beth Stanley Martinez, a clinical social worker, and they are the proud parents of two children, Sofia Grace and Lorenzo Elder. They currently reside in Arlington, Virginia.
06/08/04 - Speech by Commissioner Ray Martinez III to Florida Election Officials
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