Three more states follow Alabama out of ERIC system
On Monday, Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia all followed Alabama’s lead and withdrew from the controversial ERIC system. The Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, is a multi-state partnership that is used between the states to keep their voter rolls up to date. As more states stop sharing their data with ERIC the system will become less value to the remaining states as many Americans move in and out of ERIC member states. New Alabama Secretary of State Wes Allen began the process of withdrawing from ERIC as soon as he was inaugurated in January. The three states on Monday announced that they made the decision following weeks of negotiations over potential changes to ERIC failed to reach an agreement. Florida Secretary of State Cord Byrd notified the Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc. (ERIC), that Florida is terminating its ERIC Membership. Today’s announcement follows efforts led by Florida and Missouri over the past year to reform ERIC through attempts to secure data and eliminate ERIC’s partisan tendencies, all of which were rejected the Florida Secretary claimed. “As Secretary of State, I have an obligation to protect the personal information of Florida’s citizens, which the ERIC agreement requires us to share,” said Sec. Byrd in a statement. “Florida has tried to back reforms to increase protections, but these protections were refused. Therefore, we have lost confidence in ERIC.” “There is no defensible justification to allow any opportunity for partisanship in voter registration and list maintenance, much less in the administration of our nation’s elections,” said West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner. “It truly is a shame that an organization founded on the principle of nonpartisanship would allow the opportunity for partisanship to stray the organization from the equally important principle of upholding the public’s confidence.” In 2022, a working group of ERIC member states was formed and proposed necessary changes to the ERIC Membership agreement. These reforms would have eliminated concerns about ERIC’s potential partisan leanings, and made the information shared with ERIC more secure. Those changes were rejected in a Board of Governors meeting on Sunday, prompting the three GOP states to leave the system. “We have worked hard over the last several years to implement procedures that will make Missouri elections better, voter rolls more accurate, and bring greater trust to the election process,” Missouri Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said. “Voter confidence is compromised when individuals vote in more than one state and nothing is done. It appears that ERIC will not make the necessary changes to address these concerns, therefore, it is time to move on.” In a recent visit to ERIC’s stated address, Allen found an empty meeting place with no offices. “Before I took office, Alabama transmitted the personal information of millions of our citizens to this private organization for the past several years,” Allen said. “That information is stored on a server somewhere, but we do not know where. There is no ERIC operation at the location they claim is their office. A lot of personal data and taxpayer money has been transferred to ERIC. Where is that data? Where are the employees? Where are the offices? Where are the computers?” Before he was elected, Allen had promised that Alabama would leave the ERIC system. “I made a promise to the people of Alabama that ending our state’s relationship with the ERIC organization would be my first official act as Secretary of State,” Allen said in a statement. The letter said that Alabama would immediately cease transmitting data. Allen cited privacy concerns for his decision. “Providing the private information of Alabama citizens, including underage minors, to an out-of-state organization is troubling to me and to people that I heard from as I traveled the state for the last 20 months,” Allen said. The database was created as a tool to maintain accurate voter rolls and combat fraud by allowing states to know when someone moves, dies or registers elsewhere. The ERIC system has been criticized by many election critics on the right, who have expressed their concerns about voter integrity. ERIC had grown to include more than 30 states and governments across the political spectrum, including Rhode Island, the District of Columbia, South Carolina, and Texas. Now with four states leaving in rapid succession the future viability of ERIC may be in question. To connect with the author of this story or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
Wes Allen announces state’s withdrawal from ERIC system
Secretary of State-Elect Wes Allen announced on Wednesday that he has mailed a letter to the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to inform the corporation of Alabama’s intent to withdraw from participation in their system. “I made a promise that I would withdraw Alabama from ERIC, and I am keeping that promise,” Allen said in a statement. “I have informed them, via certified letter, that upon my inauguration on January 16, 2023, Alabama will immediately and permanently cease to transmit any information regarding any citizen in the State of Alabama to their organization and that we will no longer participate in any aspect of the ERIC program.” The ERIC system is a nonprofit organization that collects information from 32 member states, including the District of Columbia. ERIC is a database with names, addresses, and partial social security numbers of hundreds of thousands of private citizens. ERIC is used to clean up the voter rolls. “I have heard repeatedly as I traveled through the state for the last year and a half that people want us out of ERIC,” Allen continued. “They don’t want their personal information or the personal information of their children to be sent to this out-of-state group. I promised I would end our participation, and that is what I am taking these steps to do.” Allen mailed identical letters to ERIC Executive Director Shane Hamlin, ERIC Chair Mandi Grandjean, and Systems Data Specialist Sarah Whitt, informing them of his intent to cease cooperation with the group. Allen informed them that he will mail another letter upon his inauguration on January 16, 2023, on official government letterhead. ERIC is costing the state of Alabama just $25,000 a year in membership fees to ERIC. Allen has expressed concerns about the frequent transfers of sensitive data to the ERIC databases. Allen’s withdrawal will put an end to those payments and data transfers. It is unclear what system the state of Alabama will put in place to maintain the integrity of its voter rolls without ERIC. Allen was elected as Secretary of State last week and has already begun the transition to a new administration in the Secretary of State’s office. Current Secretary of State John Merrill was term-limited from running again. Merrill has defended the use of the ERIC system. “It is important to note that currently, ERIC is the only organization capable of providing the necessary data for proper voter list maintenance,” Merrill stated. “In Alabama, ERIC is used to preserve a clean and accurate voter list and to contact eligible residents who are not registered voters. Each month, we provide ERIC with a voters list and driver’s license data, and we receive information from ERIC for voter list maintenance in return. Monthly, our office receives a list of voter records that potentially need to be removed or inactivated based on deceased records from the Social Security Administration, potential duplicate voter records in Alabama, or voters that have potentially moved out of the state.” Allen is a former Pike County judge, and he has served one term in the Alabama House of Representatives representing Pike and Dale Counties. To connect with the author of this story, or to comment, email brandonmreporter@gmail.com.
