Georgia commits to voter accuracy group as other states withdraw

Several states recently announced they’re quitting ERIC, including Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Missouri and West Virginia.

Election conspiracy theorists and Republican officials in those states have accused ERIC, a bipartisan organization overseen by its member states, of working with liberal groups and encouraging fraud, allegations that ERIC denies. ERIC has also faced criticism for mailing letters to newly eligible voters so they can register to vote.

But Raffensperger said ERIC is a valuable tool to fight fraud and cancel outdated registrations.

Georgia joined ERIC under a law passed by the General Assembly in 2019, and the state’s elections overhaul law approved two years ago required the secretary of state’s office to use information from ERIC to help maintain voter lists.

About 120,000 people have canceled their Georgia registrations after they moved and received notification letters through ERIC, according to the secretary of state’s office. Hundreds of thousands more voters who appear to have moved have been declared “inactive,” a designation that allows their registrations to be canceled after they decline to participate in the next two general elections.

State election officials have canceled 922,000 outdated voter registrations since 2017, and there are now 7.9 million registered voters in Georgia.