A bipartisan effort among states to combat voter fraud has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories inspired by Donald Trump’s false claims about the 2020 presidential election and now faces an uncertain future.
One state has dropped out, another is in the process of doing so and a handful of other Republican-led states are deciding whether to stay.
The Electronic Registration Information Center, a voluntary system known as ERIC, aims to help member states maintain accurate lists of registered voters by sharing data that allows authorities to identify and remove Those who have died or migrated to other states. The reports also help states identify and eventually prosecute people who vote in different states.
In Maryland, state elections officials have received reports through the system identifying approximately 66,000 potentially dead voters and 778,000 who have moved out of state since 2013. In Georgia, the system is credited with providing data to remove nearly 100,000 voters who are no longer eligible. Vote in the state.
Yet the effort to improve electoral integrity and thwart voter fraud has become a target of suspicion among some Republicans since a series of online posts early last year questioned its funding and purpose.
Shortly after, Louisiana left the group, citing concerns raised by the posts. A day after being sworn in last month, Alabama’s new secretary of state, Wes Allen, sent a letter to Center informing her of her exit from the state after criticizing the program during her campaign.
Other Republican-led states may follow, according to a survey of state election offices by The Associated Press. Officials in Florida and Missouri said they are evaluating their participation, while legislation in Texas could force the state to drop them. West Virginia elections officials declined to weigh in, saying they are “closely monitoring the situation with ERIC’s membership.”
The prospect of departures and additional people has frustrated state election officials involved in the effort and demonstrated how deep-rooted election machinations run throughout the Republican Party.
“The idea that anyone will leave the state, and we know that many people are leaving or are considering leaving, is based entirely on misinformation that in most cases they know is not accurate — It’s bizarre to me,” said Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson, a Democrat. “Their departure directly harms the security and integrity of their own state voter rolls and their ability to keep them up-to-date and accurate.”
Not all Republican-led states are re-evaluating their participation in the program. Of those polled by the AP, elections offices in 23 states and the District of Columbia said they had no intention of leaving, including eight led or controlled by Republicans. Four state offices did not respond Alaska, Colorado, Delaware, and Washington.
Republican officials said they had no intention of leaving, indicating strong support for the effort. Iowa’s chief elections officer said that in less than a year the program had helped identify more than 1,300 deceased voters not included in the state’s statistics.
Iowa Secretary of State Paul Pate said, “ERIC is an effective tool for ensuring the integrity of Iowa’s voter rolls.”
The program was launched by seven states in 2012 and has been bipartisan from the beginning, with four of the founding states being led by Republicans. Today, 32 states and the District of Columbia are its members.
In April, that will drop to 31 when Alabama officially leaves the group. Allen made several claims about the group during his 2022 campaign that drew a rebuke from then-Secretary of State John Merrill. Merrill, a Republican, noted that ERIC had identified more than 19,000 records of potentially deceased Alabama voters since 2016.
A main complaint about the program is that it was funded by billionaire investor and philanthropist George Soros, who has long been the subject of conspiracy theories. Shane Hamlin, ERIC’s executive director, said that while ERIC received initial funding from the nonpartisan Pew Charitable Trusts, that money was separate from money provided to Pew by a Soros-affiliated organization, which went to an unrelated effort. Was.
The effort has since been funded by member states through annual dues. Hamlin said current discussions among member states have been “robust” and a decision on possible changes is expected soon.
“Is the mission of ERIC still relevant? Yes,” Hamlin said. “But are the ways members use ERIC to achieve that mission still relevant? still effective? That’s what we’re talking about internally.
Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft, a Republican, is among those pushing for the changes. In an interview, Ashcroft said he wanted the system to drop the requirement for member states to send mail to eligible but unregistered voters.
Ashcroft said, “It requires attention to the cleanliness of the rolls.” “It is not the job of the secretary of state to add voters to the rolls. It’s our job to make sure there’s a nice, simple process for people who meet the requirements to get registered.”
Ashcroft is also weighing the value that taxpayers receive from the program, arguing that the state misses out on data on voters who leave Missouri because many surrounding states do not participate. He said that time is running out to make changes.
“I have raised them with ERIC, and so far I am not satisfied with their response,” Ashcroft said. “The clock is ticking.”
Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose, a fellow Republican, said he was aware of concerns about the program but was confident in the effort.
LaRose told reporters last month, “Like any human endeavor, there are flaws in that organization and you know some of the people involved have raised concerns for others.” “But I can tell you it’s one of the best anti-fraud tools we have — when it comes to actually catching people who try to vote in so many states when our voter lists are being used.” When it comes to maintaining accuracy those who move out of state.”
Lawmakers in Texas have introduced legislation that, if passed and signed into law, would require the state to abandon the system. In Oklahoma, the proposed legislation would prohibit the state from getting involved.
In California, Kansas, and New Hampshire, lawmakers have introduced bills that would enable their states to join in, according to the Voting Rights Lab, which tracks voting laws in states. New York is another state with a high population that is not currently a member.
Gabriel Sterling, a top official in the Georgia secretary of state’s office, said he recently appealed to representatives from three other Republican-led states to join the system.
Sterling said, “A lot of it is politics and gets in the way of good election administration.” “At the end of the day, we want more people to be involved with the holiday. A lot of it is just a teacup.