MONTGOMERY – On Tuesday, Secretary of State John Merrill signed an
agreement to participate in the Electronic Registration Information Center
(ERIC), in conjunction with the Interstate Voter Registration Data Comparison (link to release).
ERIC is a
non-profit corporation made up of member states, which include Colorado,
Oregon, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware, Utah, Louisiana, Virginia,
Maryland, Washington, Minnesota, Washington, D.C. and Nevada.
With this
new partnership, the Office of the Secretary of State will contact each
eligible voter, of voting age, in the state to ensure they are registered to
vote, as well as see that they have obtained their government issued voter
photo I.D. This will occur twice a year.
“This legislation
allows both ERIC and the Interstate
Voter Registration Data Comparison to further strengthen the integrity of our
voter lists, which ensures citizens in Alabama are properly allowed to exercise
their eligible vote. Maintaining an accurate and current voter registration
list is essential in conducting a fair and accurate voting process. Sharing our
database with other states will also allow us to remove those citizens that
have relocated, thereby decreasing the risk of voter fraud,” said Secretary Merrill.
“In the spirit of bipartisanship, I want to commend Representative Ainsworth
and Senator Ross for their leadership in the passage of this bill.”
Legislative
Act 2015-459 provides:
·
Authorization for the Secretary of
State to share voter lists with other states free of charge
·
Require state agencies to provide
information and data to the Secretary of State as necessary to maintain the
statewide voter registration database
·
Authorization for the Secretary of
State to enter into agreements to share information with other states in order
to maintain the statewide voter registration database
For more information, please contact
the Office of the Secretary of State at 334-242-7200 or visit our website at http://www.sos.alabama.gov/.
###