On July 20, Texas became the eighth state to resign from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) in 2023, and the ninth state overall.
ERIC is a multi-state voter list maintenance organization, initially established in 2012 by a group of chief election officials from seven states. By 2022, 33 states were participating members in ERIC. ERIC says its mission is “to assist states in improving the accuracy of America’s voter rolls and increasing access to voter registration for all eligible citizens.” States that join ERIC agree to share their voter registration and licensing and identification data from motor vehicle departments every 60 days. ERIC then compiles this data and subsequently releases a series of voter list maintenance reports.
Texas Director of Elections Christina Adkins submitted the state’s resignation letter to ERIC on July 20. The withdrawal will become effective on Oct. 19, 2023, per ERIC bylaws. Alicia Pierce, a representative for Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson, said compliance with Senate Bill 1070 was the reason for Texas’s withdrawal. SB1070, which Gov. Greg Abbott (R) signed on June 18, includes provisions that make compliance with ERIC’s bylaws effectively impossible and directs the Texas Secretary of State to develop a new voter registration data-sharing compact, or find a new program with annual dues less than $100,000.
