ATLANTA — Over the past several years, following former President Donald Trump’s unsubstantiated allegations of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election, there has been pressure from Republican circles to withdraw from a bipartisan initiative that aids states in maintaining accurate voter rolls. To date, nine states have opted out, but no new withdrawals have happened since October 2023.
Recently, a piece of legislation pushed forward by House Republicans in a Georgia legislative committee could position Georgia as the tenth state to leave this initiative.
Currently, 24 states along with Washington, D.C., are part of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This entity, however, has faced scrutiny from Republican lawmakers regarding its funding and motivations. The data shared by ERIC enables state officials to cleanse voter rolls by identifying those who have passed away, moved out of state, or registered elsewhere.
Representative Martin Momtahan, a Republican from Dallas and supporter of the proposed bill, claimed that the exit of bordering states from the network has rendered the data shared through ERIC “totally ineffective.”
Contradicting this view, Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, has expressed his appreciation for the ERIC system, highlighting its role in preserving accurate voter information that is more comprehensive than what states could compile independently.
Blake Evans, a member of Raffensperger’s team and the chair of the executive committee for ERIC, affirmed during Tuesday’s hearing on the bill that ERIC stands as the “most secure and efficient mass voter list maintenance tool that is available.”
Evans noted that ERIC’s resources enabled them to assist in mailing over 2.6 million voter maintenance notices, identifying 74 instances of individuals potentially voting in multiple states.
Under the proposed bill, although Georgia could pursue separate agreements to share data with other states, this approach is likely to become complicated and costly. Marisa Pyle, representing the voting rights coalition All Voting is Local, remarked at the hearing that states departing from ERIC have found it increasingly challenging to timely manage their voter rolls.
“Georgia would have to pursue these individual agreements piecemeal rather than having access to a comprehensive 24-state database,” Pyle explained. “Additionally, there’s no assurance that we can secure those agreements.”
While concerns about privacy have been raised by Republican proponents, ERIC’s advocates argue that the group has not experienced any known data breaches.
Founded in 2012 by seven states, including four led by Republican officials, ERIC has seen states like Florida, Louisiana, and Alabama withdraw membership. Trump has previously called for states to exit, asserting—with no evidence—that the initiative benefits Democrats during elections. Critics have also pointed out financial ties to philanthropic figures such as George Soros.
The executive director of ERIC clarified that the organization initially received funding from the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trust, which was distinct from funds from a Soros-affiliated entity, as reported earlier this year. Currently, ERIC is sustained through annual dues from its member states.
Should the bill progress through Georgia’s House of Representatives, it is expected to gain approval in the Senate as well. Evans remarked, “There isn’t any organization offering us comparable data quality that we could join.”
