Electronic Registration Information Center facts for kids
The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a special group in the United States. It's a non-profit organization, which means it doesn't aim to make money. Instead, it helps states manage their voter lists. State election offices and their leaders run and pay for ERIC.
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How ERIC Helps Voters
ERIC helps states keep their voter lists correct and helps more people register to vote.
Keeping Voter Lists Accurate
Every two months, states that are part of ERIC send their voter information and car registration details to ERIC. ERIC's team then compares this information with data from all other member states. They also check it against information about people who have passed away.
This helps ERIC find:
- People who have moved to a new address.
- People who have passed away.
- People who might be listed more than once in a state's voter records.
States can also ask for reports that show changes of address, using official information from the U.S. Postal Service. After big elections, states can even check if anyone voted in more than one state. ERIC's reports help states make their voter lists better. This means the lists are more accurate and up-to-date.
Helping People Register to Vote
ERIC also helps people who are old enough to vote but haven't registered yet. By comparing voter data with car registration data, ERIC can find these people. Then, election officials can send them information on how to sign up to vote.
States that join ERIC agree to help everyone register fairly. They must send letters to people ERIC identifies as eligible to vote but not yet registered. Between 2012 and 2018, ERIC found 26 million people who could vote but weren't registered. It also found 10 million registered voters who had moved or were listed more than once.
Some states found that about 10% to 20% of the people they contacted later registered to vote. This is a good result for mailings! It means that between 2.6 million and 5.2 million of the 26 million people contacted might have become voters.
The Story of ERIC
States created ERIC to make voter lists more accurate and to make it easier for all American citizens to register to vote.
How ERIC Started
ERIC began in 2012. Election officials from seven states started it with help from a group called the Pew Charitable Trusts. The Pew Charitable Trusts helped a lot at the start, but they are no longer involved with ERIC.
Who Joined ERIC?
When ERIC first started in 2012, the seven states were Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
By 2019, many more states had joined, including Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. Texas joined in March 2020, and Oklahoma joined in April 2021. Today, 30 states and the District of Columbia are members.
A data scientist named Jeff Jonas developed the special software ERIC uses to match information. In 2020-2021, ERIC's budget was a little over $1 million.
How ERIC is Managed
Each state that is a member of ERIC gets a seat on its Board of Directors. This Board helps make important decisions. They have committees that focus on things like keeping data safe and doing research.
The Board of Directors has several key jobs:
- They approve ERIC's yearly budget.
- They decide how much each state pays to be a member.
- They regularly check ERIC's plan for keeping information secure.
ERIC follows a set of rules called bylaws and a membership agreement. Every state must sign this agreement before they can join ERIC.
