Big Sky Times

Montana is among 26 states that have resigned from or are not members of a national voter data group accused of partisanship in its work to expand voter rolls and lacking in transparency, an analysis by the Big Sky Times found.

In 2023 alone, nine states resigned membership in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), which includes the District of Columbia among its members.

"ERIC is the most effective tool available to help election officials maintain more accurate voter rolls and detect possible illegal voting," said the group's website. "ERIC also helps states reach out to potentially eligible but not yet registered individuals with information on how best to register to vote."

Hayden Ludwig, the director of policy research for Restoration for America, wrote in a column that, “ERIC was supposedly designed to help states cull their lists of voters who've died, moved or otherwise become ineligible.”

"Here's the truth: ERIC was created to expand the nation's voter rolls, not clean them," Ludwig wrote. "Take it from ERIC founder and leftist elections lawyer David Becker, who bragged in 2018 that '(ERIC) is the single most effective voter registration drive in the history of the United States,' responsible for adding, in ERIC states, 'between five and six million (new voters) in just six years.'"

Ludwig wrote that, "Newly acquired public records reveal that there's much more to the exact relationship between … (ERIC) and the Center for Election Innovation and Research (CEIR) than meets the eye. Emails obtained by the Public Interest Legal Foundation (and archived here) show Rhode Island Elections Director Rob Rock 'working with CEIR' 'to facilitate the secure transfer of . . . ERIC member data' to this private, third-party organization run by ERIC founder and ex-board member David Becker."

Legal Newsline reported that Becker has been described as a “hard-core leftist” who “hates conservatives." Becker resigned from the ERIC board in March, following the resignation of four states from ERIC during that month alone.

Ohio was one of those states, and Ohio Secretary of State Frank La Rose cited ERIC's "hyper-partisan allies" as a reason for his state's resignation from the program.

"I cannot justify the use of Ohio's tax dollars for an organization that seems intent on rejecting meaningful accountability, publicly maligning my motives and waging a relentless campaign of misinformation about this effort," wrote La Rose in a letter to Shane Hamlin, executive director of ERIC. "The conduct of ERIC and some of its hyper-partisan allies in recent weeks only heightens my suspicion and reinforces my decision."

Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri, West Virginia, Virginia, Iowa, and Texas all resigned their memberships in 2023.

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin cited "partisan concerns" for his state's resignation.

"The announcement comes amid concerns raised by citizens, government watchdog organizations and media reports about potential questionable funding sources and that possibly partisan actors may have access to ERIC network data for political purposes, potentially undermining voter confidence," said Ardoin in a press release.

CNN reported, "The controversy swirling around the group also prompted David Becker - a founder of ERIC - to announce … that he was resigning his non-voting position on the group's board after conservatives claimed his presence had injected partisanship in the group."

State	Member of ERIC
Alabama	No
Alaska	Yes
Arizona	Yes
Arkansas	No
California	No
Colorado	Yes
Connecticut	Yes
Delaware	Yes
Florida	No
Georgia	Yes
Hawaii	No
Idaho	No
Illinois	Yes
Indiana	No
Iowa	No
Kansas	No
Kentucky	Yes
Louisiana	No
Maine	Yes
Maryland	Yes
Massachusetts	Yes
Michigan	Yes
Minnesota	Yes
Mississippi	No
Missouri	No
Montana	No
Nebraska	No
Nevada	Yes
New Hampshire	No
New Jersey	Yes
New Mexico	Yes
New York	No
North Carolina	No
North Dakota	No
Ohio	No
Oklahoma	No
Oregon	Yes
Pennsylvania	Yes
Rhode Island	Yes
South Carolina	Yes
South Dakota	No
Tennessee	No
Texas	No
Utah	Yes
Vermont	Yes
Virginia	No
Washington	Yes
West Virginia	No
Wisconsin	Yes
Wyoming	No

Source: State statutes and policies, Electronic Registration and Information Center