For Immediate Release:
June 20, 2023

Contact:
press@responsivegoverning.org

HOUSTON — Last week, the Houston Chronicle published an opinion piece by Sam Oliker Friedland, executive director of the Institute for Responsive Government. If Governor Greg Abbott signs this legislation into law, Texas will be the ninth, and largest, state to withdraw from ERIC — which, prior to recent disinformation, was largely considered a trusted, bipartisan effort to share voter information efficiently and accurately. 

Oliker-Friedland writes that, “Should the governor approve of SB 1070, Texas will be forced to contend with the fact that the decision to withdraw from ERIC is shortsighted.” He asserts that,  “[i]t will be an expensive step backwards for Texas taxpayers, not to mention the challenges the withdrawal will create in maintaining accurate voter rolls.”

Read the full op-ed HERE

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• “Texas lawmakers recently approved Senate Bill 1070, which would end the state of Texas’ participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a bipartisan coalition of election administrators who keep voter rolls accurate.”
• “SB 1070 would push Texas towards using an alternative system to update voter rolls. However, to date, ERIC is not just the most effective tool election administrators have for identifying ineligible voters — it’s also one of the only tools. . . .Texas election officials will be forced to recreate a system that cleans and updates voter rolls — which ERIC already does, accurately and efficiently.”
• “It is unfortunate that the baseless misinformation being spread about ERIC is having powerful, real-world consequences. The disinformation campaign against ERIC is creating the exact scenario we are all hoping to avoid: inaccuracy, inefficiency and insecurity around our elections, not only in the states that have chosen to withdraw, but nationwide. It is actively undermining the integrity of state and local elections.”
• “Should the governor approve of SB 1070, Texas will be forced to contend with the fact that the decision to withdraw from ERIC is shortsighted. It will be an expensive step backwards for Texas taxpayers, not to mention the challenges the withdrawal will create in maintaining accurate voter rolls.”
• “Maintaining accurate voter rolls helps build confidence in election outcomes, which is a critical function during this time of heightened distrust in our government. On top of reinforcing our democracy, we have the opportunity to build trust by letting election officials, regardless of party, run their offices practically, responsively and with enough resources to maintain security to serve every eligible voter.”
• “Election security and access to the ballot are not tradeoffs — in fact, when policies are designed well, such as in ERIC’s case, they go hand-in-hand. . . . We owe it to ourselves, and to the future of our country, that our elections are fortified under the twin pillars of security and access.”

If you would like to speak to a voting rights or elections expert from the Institute for Responsive Government, please contact press@responsivegoverning.org.

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The Institute for Responsive Government is a nonpartisan nonprofit dedicated to ensuring state and federal governments work effectively for the very people they serve. IRG provides data, research and expertise to elected officials in order to find practical policy solutions that make government systems more efficient, accessible, and responsive.