What is it?
- Click here for it's website.
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization created by and comprised of state election officials from around the United States. Founded in 2012, ERIC is funded and governed by states that choose to join.
ERIC is the most effective tool available to help election officials maintain more accurate voter rolls and detect possible illegal voting. ERIC also helps states reach out to potentially eligible but not yet registered individuals with information on how best to register to vote.
- From Wikipedia:
States created ERIC to improve the accuracy of state voter registration rolls and boost access to voter registration for all American citizens. ERIC, with logistical and financial support from the Pew Charitable Trusts, was launched in 2012 by elections officials from seven states. Membership has grown to 30 states and the District of Columbia. The Pew Charitable Trusts, although integral to the creation of ERIC, now has no role with ERIC.
The ERIC program, considered by election administration experts across the country as the best tool for preventing double-voting across state lines, has been a target of viral conspiracy theories spread since early last year by a fringe conservative publication, the Gateway Pundit. The nonpartisan program compares voter registration rolls from all its member states, along with other data, to flag voters who have died, moved away or registered elsewhere, so that states can remove outdated registrations from their rolls.
Right-wing activists and conservative media falsely say the program is led by left-wing advocates, that its funding comes from Democratic megadonor George Soros, and that it shares voters’ private data with outside groups seeking to give Democrats an advantage, among other allegations. Since last year, eight Republican-run member states — most recently Virginia, on Friday — have announced withdrawals from the program, apparently due to political pressure.
The Texas bill’s surprising setback came after the legislation had been in the works for more than a year and had picked up momentum through both chambers. The bill’s House sponsor, state Rep. Jacey Jetton, a Richmond Republican, asked Tuesday to delay a vote on it until after the regular session ends later this month following a point of order — a procedural tactic used to delay or kill legislation — that was raised by state Rep. Mihaela Plesa, D-Dallas.
On Wednesday, after a series of procedural moves, the bill was sent back to the House Elections Committee, which again approved it hours after it was received.
The story focuses on SB 1070: Relating to the interstate voter registration crosscheck program.
- Click here for the Bill Analysis.
