An informed public,
a strengthened democracy.
Today, nonprofit watchdog organization American Oversight released a report, “The Campaign to Dismantle ERIC,” detailing how many of the same people who tried to overturn the 2020 election worked behind the scenes to push nine Republican-led states to abandon the bipartisan Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, and how that exodus threatens next year’s election.
“The effort to dismantle a bipartisan, secure, and well-functioning system of voter registration data-sharing is a part of a broader attempt to undermine faith in our democracy and our country’s elections,” Chukwu said. “These documents show how the election denial movement exerted undue influence over state leaders, effectively paving the way for Trump’s allies to sow chaos in the 2024 election. As another election year approaches, it is vital for the American people to see how the same forces that sought to overturn 2020 are still working to undermine our democracy.”
“The Campaign to Dismantle ERIC” draws upon thousands of pages of public records American Oversight obtained through requests and litigation. It outlines how ERIC went from a non-controversial organization that quietly helped states securely maintain accurate voter rolls to a target of the election denial movement.
The documents in the report reveal how state officials privately acknowledged the importance of ERIC before withdrawing and how those states left the system without any adequate replacements in place. Since then, these states have scrambled to find viable alternatives — none of which are as secure or effective as ERIC in maintaining up-to-date voter rolls.
The report also shows how the exodus opened the door for Trump allies like Cleta Mitchell and others to promote their own alternatives that would make it easier for voter fraud activists to challenge the voting rights of other citizens and make states more vulnerable to false claims of election fraud in 2024.
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