On Wednesday, Gov. Ron DeSantis announced Florida will take part in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) to help boost elections security in the Sunshine State.
“By joining ERIC, Florida will be able to crosscheck voter registration data with 29 other member states in order to identify duplicate registrations and outdated records from voters who have moved or passed away, leading to cleaner and more accurate voter registration rolls,” the governor’s office noted.
“One of my administration’s top priorities is protecting the integrity of Florida’s elections, which is why joining ERIC is the right thing to do for our state as it will ensure our voter rolls are up-to-date and it will increase voter participation in our elections,” said DeSantis on Wednesday. “Since taking office, we have been reviewing this issue with Supervisors of Elections. We are confident that by improving the accuracy of our voter rolls, we will reduce the potential for voter fraud.”
The governor’s office offered some of the benefits Florida will see as part of ERIC.
“In addition to enhancing the accuracy of voter rolls, ERIC also improves voter registration by providing information for member states to contact potentially eligible but unregistered voters with instructions on how to register to vote. The outreach to potentially eligible voters is conducted every two years ahead of each federal general election,” the governor’s office noted.
“I want to thank Governor DeSantis for his support of Florida joining ERIC,” said Secretary of State Laurel Lee. “From election security to voter registration, Governor DeSantis has taken action to put Florida in the best posture possible for safe and secure elections with accurate voter registration rolls and minimal voter fraud.”
“Supervisors of Elections have long advocated for Florida to join ERIC as it is an incredible tool to help ensure our voter rolls are accurate,” said Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections President Tammy Jones. “On behalf of all Supervisors, I thank Governor DeSantis for his tremendous leadership on this issue.”
DeSantis oversaw more than $5 million going to Supervisors of Elections to boost election security, including cybersecurity. He also directed Lee to work with all the Supervisors of Elections across the state on a Joint Election Security Initiative “that will identify any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in Florida’s elections infrastructure.”
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