For Immediate Release:
June 12, 2023

Contact:
press@responsivegoverning.org

RICHMOND — Yesterday, the Virginian-Pilot published an opinion piece by Sam Oliker Friedland, executive director of the Institute for Responsive Government. Virginia is now the eighth state to withdraw from the bipartisan coalition of election administrators who keep voter rolls accurate using cross-state and cross-agency data. Prior to recent disinformation, ERIC was largely considered a trusted, nonpartisan effort to share voter information efficiently and accurately.

Oliker-Friedland writes that Virginia’s departure is “particularly surprising,” because it was of the original states that created the organization, led by then-Governor Bob McDonnell (R). Additionally, Virginia state law requires election officials to use ERIC or a similar registration cross-check program — and at this point in time there simply “is no reliable, alternative program that will identify voters who have moved out-of-state, passed away, or simply already voted.”

Read the full op-ed HERE

KEY TAKEAWAYS: 

• “According to data from the Census American Community Survey, between 217,000 and 313,000 people moved out of Virginia between 2016 and 2020. For those who moved out of state, their voting registration became out-of-date. Under ERIC, many of those records of eligible voters who have moved out-of-state would be identified, enabling Virginia election officials to remove them from the rolls.”
• “In states that withdraw, election administrators will be forced to use more taxpayer money for less reliable data. ERIC is neither connected to any state system nor part of any national effort to boost voter participation; it’s a bipartisan group of bureaucrats doing what they always do — keeping our elections secure. With each state that withdraws, cross-state information is lost, and the efficiency and effectiveness of ERIC as a whole is undermined.”
• “The decision to withdraw from ERIC is shortsighted. It’s a step backwards that will inevitably cost Virginia taxpayers money, not to mention the challenges the withdrawal will create in maintaining accurate voter rolls.”

• “The disinformation campaign against ERIC is creating the exact scenario we are all hoping to avoid: inaccuracy, inefficiency and insecurity around our elections. ERIC is neither connected to any state system nor part of any national effort to boost voter participation; it’s a bipartisan group of bureaucrats doing what they always do — keeping our elections secure. With each state that withdraws, cross-state information is lost, and the efficiency and effectiveness of ERIC as a whole is undermined.”
• “It is time to move forward with a solution that centers the needs of voters, rather than politicians. We owe it to ourselves, and to the future of our country, to fortify our democracy under the twin pillars of security and access.”

If you would like to speak to a voting rights or elections expert from the Institute of 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.