Do ERIC States Have Clean Voter Rolls?
ERIC says it helps maintain voter rolls. The data shows otherwise.
The “progressive” media take it as an article of faith that the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is the essential ingredient for immaculate voter rolls. Without ERIC data, the theory goes, states would be woefully unable to remove ineligible voters from their files. But is that true?
The Voter Reference Foundation examined voter data from the 2020 Election Administration and Voting Survey (EAVS), a report published every other year by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission. The findings are revealing, if not surprising.
In 2020, non-ERIC states culled ineligible voters from their lists at a higher rate (7.44 percent) than ERIC member states (6.9 percent). (See our data here.)
Put differently, states not in ERIC did a better job of removing individuals from voter files—what’s meant by “cleaning” the rolls—than states in the compact. It’s clear that states don’t need a private data warehouse to run their elections efficiently, particularly one run by partisan activists.
To date, 6 states have announced their departure from ERIC. Iowa, Texas, and Alaska plan to follow in short order. And in March, North Carolina introduced legislation preemptively blocking the state from joining ERIC.
Of red states, that leaves Georgia, Kentucky, South Carolina, Utah, and Virginia still in the compact. But for how long?
Originally posted at the Voter Reference Foundation (4/4/2023)
