In the state of Alabama, many residents have declined to register to vote as part of a federal initiative.
New Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said on Tuesday that he was withdrawing from the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA) Alliance. Voter registration lists must be up-to-date, and all 32 NVRA Alliance member states have pledged to do their part by sharing data regularly. The merits of the accord have been called into question by right-wing ideology and rhetoric.
Wes Allen, the new governor of Washington, said on his first day in office that his state would withdraw from the nonprofit Electronic Registration Information Center that connects 31 other states and the District of Columbia.
Allen pledged during his run for governor of Alabama to sever Alabama’s ties to the ERIC. A few months into his administration, he fulfilled his promise (ERIC). The letter from Alabama included a vow to immediately halt data transfers.
In an effort to preserve their anonymity, the Republican candidates have announced that they will be departing ERIC on Tuesday.
Allen, who has lived in Alabama for two years, says he is “disturbed” by the state’s willingness to reveal private information, especially regarding kids.
The database’s veracity has been questioned on occasion, despite the fact that it was created to aid governments in updating voter rolls when people change employment, move, or register to vote in a new state.
John Merrill, the previous Secretary of State, exerted great effort to halt Allen’s departure that November. Since the ERIC reliably updates voter rolls, he has always supported it (ERIC). Access to out-of-state vital records would be significantly more challenging for ERIC in Alabama (such as registration and driving histories).
Earlier today, Merrill was cited as saying, “I feel he has studied this problem and is making the choices based on what he feels is in the best interest of the state of Alabama.”
The subject of whether or not to join ERIC has been raised by at least one more state. A candidate for secretary of state in Arizona’s Republican primary who had promised to withdraw from ERIC if elected was soundly defeated. Louisiana chose to sit this one out before the new year even began.
Brad Raffensperger, a Republican running for Georgia secretary of state, is an avid proponent of the ERIC (Electronic Research Information Center). It will have a significant effect on voter registration in Georgia in 2018, says Raffensperger.
As it stands, state participation in ERIC is broken down as follows: Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin are the fifty-one states in this group. Of course, you can also count DC if you’d like.