Texas Takes Steps To Leave Voter Data Organization ERIC

WASHINGTON, D.C. — On Friday, March 10, the Texas Department of State announced the creation of a new position to “develop and manage an interstate voter registration crosscheck program.” The development of a new program to identify voters whose addresses have changed could allow the state to stop participating in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a bipartisan nonprofit that has become the target of right-wing election conspiracy theories despite its utility in voter list maintenance. Multiple Texas legislators have also introduced bills to end participation in ERIC.

By creating its own voter registration program, Texas could join a growing number of Republican states that have left ERIC. Last week, Florida, Missouri and West Virginia announced their intention to leave the program. Alabama withdrew earlier this year, while Louisiana left in 2022, the first state to do so since ERIC’s founding in 2012.