In 2018, to help achieve the goal of accurate and up-to-date voter rolls, the state of Missouri joined a multi-state nonprofit, nonpartisan organization, the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). This was at the specific request of local election authorities to improve election security and keep voting lists accurate. ERIC also allowed Missouri to identify eligible but unregistered voters ─ citizens who are eligible to vote but who are not registered.
Missouri was a member of ERIC from 2018 to 2023. With reports provided by ERIC during the time of our membership, local election authorities in Missouri were able to identify 21,712 deceased voters, 18,242 in-state duplicate registrations, 368,420 in-state movers/updates and 383,884 cross-state movers to update Missouri’s voter registration rolls. Indeed, with the ERIC’s Voter Participation Report, the Secretary of State was able to identify two people who illegally voted in both Missouri and Florida and refer them for prosecution.
In March 2023, despite the evidence of its value, the secretary of state withdrew our state from membership in the ERIC system. His decision was based partly on incorrect information about the source of funding for the organization. It is funded by the annual assessments it charges participating states. He said he did not believe in the need to use lists of citizens provided by ERIC to contact citizens who are eligible to vote but are not already registered.
By withdrawing from the organization, Missouri has lost the ability to update its voter rolls using multistate data that would improve and ensure accuracy. Missouri State Auditor Scott Fitzpatrick recently released a report saying, “The decision to terminate the ERIC membership will have a negative impact on the state’s (local election authorities) and will result in them having less information to identify and correct inaccurate voter records, especially related to potentially duplicate voters in other states.”
Accurate voter lists ensure that the election process moves smoothly by decreasing the use of provisional ballots, minimizing wait times at the polls and providing information about budgeting for poll workers and election equipment. If ERIC is no longer in use in Missouri, there should be a robust, fair, accurate, transparent, secure, and inclusive plan to replace it.
