ERIC Membership: Ensuring Accurate Registration Records

The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is an efficient, cost-effective, and reliable tool for New Hampshire to improve voter registration list maintenance.

ERIC is a non-profit organization consisting of 31 member-states, including Maine, Vermont, Connecticut, and Rhode Island (with Massachusetts joining this year). Through ERIC, these 31 states pool voter registration information and motor vehicle data to identify duplicate registration records, as well as registrants who have moved, died, or voted in multiple states. Member-states can then use this information to update their voter rolls and investigate potential instances of fraud.

• ERIC efficiently identifies movers: ERIC data on in-state and out-of-state movers can provide reliable, targeted data for updating or removing voters from the rolls. To date, ERIC has flagged over 23 million movers nationwide. This helps states avoid other more costly, less efficient forms of list maintenance, such as blanket mailings to all registrants or all non-voters.
• ERIC accurately locates dead registrants: ERIC also provides the best available data on deceased voters. Member states are given lists of registrants who have died in other states as well as any registrants who match the Social Security Master Death File. These lists would allow New Hampshire to promptly remove deceased registrants, promoting confidence in the integrity of the voter rolls.
• ERIC flags duplicate registrations: In addition to flagging potential movers and deceased voters, ERIC provides member-states with lists of duplicate registrations on their rolls. These duplicate registrations can be removed immediately, reducing costs as well as potential for double voting.
• ERIC flags potential fraud: As an additional benefit, ERIC identifies cases of double voting across state lines or voting in the name of a deceased voter, helping member-states detect and prevent potential voter fraud.
• ERIC is cost-effective: Member-states pay ERIC annual dues based on population, and New Hampshire’s dues would likely be less than $20,000. This relatively small investment would yield sizable benefits for election integrity.
• ERIC is state-run: ERIC is controlled and governed by its member-states. Each state has a seat on the Board of Directors, which sets the organization’s bylaws, security policies and procedures, and budget.