Ohio starts voter data agreement with other states who left existing program

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) – Months after pulling out of a national election data-sharing group, Ohio is forming a new voter registration data network with fellow defectors.

The state will share voter data with Florida, Virginia and West Virginia, Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose announced, and he anticipates more states will follow. States will be able to cross-reference their records with other states’ voter rolls to identify duplicate registrations, voters who’ve moved and potential cases of voter fraud.

LaRose has touted the agreements as an alternative to the Electronic Registration Information Center, a nonprofit started by state election officials in 2012 to analyze voter data among member states and against federal death and postal records. Since releasing its first report in 2013, ERIC has identified more than 37 million voters who moved between elections, 1 million duplicate registrations, and nearly 600,000 dead people on voter rolls.

“This is a major new development as states look to move beyond the old model of sharing voter data through an unaccountable third-party vendor,” LaRose said. “Ohio took the lead on this election integrity project, and it’s only one aspect of the work we’re doing to keep our elections honest as we prepare for the next presidential election year.”

At ERIC’s peak in 2022, 31 states and Washington D.C. participated in the program. For most of its history, it has had bipartisan support and considered a way to ensure election security and integrity.

Beginning last year, several Republican state election officials have withdrawn from ERIC, citing differing reasons that range from conspiracy theories to disagreements about changes to ERIC’s governance and operation. In a March 6 letter, LaRose threatened to withdraw from ERIC if key proposed changes were not enacted. Among other concerns, LaRose called for an end to the requirement that states use ERIC’s report to identify and contact eligible voters who are not registered.

Less than two weeks later, after an ERIC member meeting, LaRose gave his 91-day notice that Ohio would withdraw. By that time, he and 27 other state election officials had begun meeting to draft new recommendations for secure election data-sharing.

“I cannot justify the use of Ohio’s tax dollars for an organization that seems intent on rejecting meaningful accountability, publicly maligning my motives, and waging a relentless campaign of misinformation about this effort,” LaRose wrote in his notice to ERIC.

With Texas announcing its departure from ERIC in July, 24 states and D.C. remain in the program.

LaRose’s announcement did not come with details about the new agreements.