Virginia officially rejoined the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) on Thursday, April 30, and became its 27th member. ERIC is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization and its member states are governed by administrations from both political parties.
Gov. Abigail D. Spanberger issued Executive Order 13 on Tuesday, March 24, and directed the Virginia Department of Elections (ELECT) to start the process of rejoining ERIC within 30 days. Commissioner of Elections Steven Koski completed that process, and on behalf of ELECT, signed ERIC’s membership agreement.
In 2012, under Gov. Bob McDonnell, Virginia became one of the founding members of ERIC. For more than 10 years, the information shared among ERIC member states was a critical tool in conducting voter list maintenance. Rejoining ERIC provides Virginia election administrators with access to this essential multistate information that will help ensure that only eligible Virginians can vote in the Commonwealth.
“Accurate, fair, open, and secure elections start with up-to-date voter rolls,” said Commissioner Koski. “In addition to maintaining our existing state-to-state data sharing agreements, rejoining ERIC will give Virginia access to a key source of information that will bolster our comprehensive voter list maintenance processes.”
In addition to Executive Order 13, Spanberger signed SB 57 patroned by Sen. Schuyler Van Valkenburg and HB 215 patroned by Del. Rozia Henson into law, both of which require Virginia to join and remain a member in good standing in ERIC.
