The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 9, 2023

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

PolitiFact – Arizona’s Mark Finchem falsely links George Soros to voter roll program
Votebeat Arizona – The truth about ERIC, the voter roll program targeted by extremists
Insider – An Alabama ‘election denier’ is leading efforts in the state to withdraw from a national organization that combats voter fraud
Associated Press – 3 GOP states pull out of effort to thwart voter fraud
Alabama Today – Three more states follow Alabama out of ERIC system
Statehouse News Bureau (Ohio) – LaRose says Ohio may drop out of voter registration program he praised last month
Electronic Registration Information Center – Letter from the Director
Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) – Frequently Asked Questions

Today’s Script:  (Variations occur with audio due to editing for time)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

For 31 states, the ERIC voter registration change database provides real election integrity, not the made-up kind.  Now, it’s under attack by conspiracy theorists.

The Electronic Registration Information Center, commonly known as ERIC, is a nonpartisan nonprofit cooperative of states which uses sophisticated computer matching to cross reference voters who’ve moved, were duplicated, or have died.  This helps keep voter rolls up to date, and minimizes the chance that someone would vote in more than one place.  Its governing board is made up of state officials themselves.   The nonprofit was founded in 2012 with a grant from the Pew Trusts.

In January, Alabama’s incoming Secretary of State withdrew from ERIC, citing protection of its citizens’ data.  It was followed in March by Florida, Missouri, and West Virginia.  Ohio’s Frank LaRose last month praised ERIC, but now he too has voiced concerns.

Why?  The Ohio Statehouse News Bureau reports that a non-voting board member formerly of Pew Trusts now works for Mark Zuckerberg’s foundation, which provided grants to fund municipal election offices during the pandemic.  The Associated Press writes that another conspiracy theory claims the original funding from Pew Trusts for ERIC, came in part from Billionaire philanthropist George Soros.  

Secretaries of state pulling out of the program appear to be bowing to election denier activists, and hurting, not improving, election security. 

We have articles and ERIC’s FAQs at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  For the American Democracy Minute, I’m Brian Beihl.

The post <strong>States Are Leaving the ERIC Voter Registration Cross Referencing System.  Why?  Conspiracy Theories.</strong> appeared first on American Democracy Minute.