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The Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) now has 29 members with the recent additions of Vermont and Kentucky, joining 26 states and The District of Columbia in an interstate exchange dedicated to improving voter registration rolls.

ERIC shared the Vermont news on its Twitter feed:

Delighted to welcome Vermont to ERIC! Membership in @ericstates_info = more accurate voter rolls and more registered voters. Thank you and congrats to @VermontSOS!

Kentucky’s Secretary of State issued its own press release, which said in part:

“I have worked to make Kentucky’s election more efficient through implementing innovative technology, securing election infrastructure, and saving tax payer dollars,” said Grimes, the Commonwealth’s Chief Election Official. “Becoming a member of ERIC is one more step that we are taking to ensure the integrity of our elections and the accuracy of Kentucky’s voter rolls.”

ERIC maintains voter roll accuracy by identifying out-of-date records found by comparing voter registration data between states, to motor vehicle licensing agency data, and to the Social Security Administration master death index list.

In addition to maintaining records, ahead of any federal general election, ERIC contacts potential voters with instructions on how to register. Grimes is proud to become a member of this innovative organization that is working to build voter confidence in elections.

Kentucky is the 29th state along with the District of Columbia to become a member of ERIC

“I’m proud to continue modernizing the administration of elections here in the Commonwealth. I look forward to a free and fair election this November.”

ERIC’s continued growth is a huge development for new and old members alike – and one Florida columnist, the Sun-Sentinel’s Steve Bousquet, is bemoaning his state’s failure to join:

Kentucky became the 28th state to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a non-profit compact in which states share encrypted voter registration data to track dual registrations and rid rolls of deceased voters. Florida has among the highest rates of in- and out-migration, and that trend could be increasing, yet it stubbornly refuses to join ERIC.

Now consider that the two states bordering Florida — Alabama and Georgia — are both members. What gives?

The state’s refusal to act, a year after the Legislature passed a law authorizing it, is a thumb in the eye to the state’s 67 supervisors of elections. Joining ERIC is a long-standing priority of supervisors, who see it as enhancing the credibility of the statewide voter database and bolstering public confidence in the integrity of elections after attempted Russian hacks in 2016.

Florida or not, ERIC’s continued growth is a success story for the election officials and policymakers in member states – and their voters. Kudos to Vermont and Kentucky, and to ERIC, for this news – it’ll be interesting to see if any more new members join before the 2020 election cycle begins in earnest. Stay tuned!