Senate committee hears broad support and opposition for bill to join ERIC; committee recommends ITL

Senate Election Law and Municipal Affairs Committee members heard public testimony on Senate Bill 219, which would require the secretary of state to enter a membership agreement with the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), a nonprofit that helps states compare voter registration and motor vehicle records to improve list accuracy.

The bill’s prime sponsor, Senator Rebecca Perkins Boca (District 21), introduced the measure and told the committee ERIC “is a nonprofit membership organization created by state election officials to help improve the accuracy of state voter rolls and register more eligible Americans to vote.” She said ERIC’s reports allow “state election officials to use the reports provided to update their voter rolls, remove ineligible voters, investigate potential illegal voting, and provide voter registration information to individuals who may be eligible to vote.”

Supporters including Liz Tentarelli, president of the League of Women Voters of New Hampshire, Olivia Zink of Open Democracy, Michael O’Brien (America Votes / Freddie Strategies), and representatives of youth voting groups said ERIC provides secure data-matching that helps states find duplicate or deceased registrants and assists with outreach to voters who have moved. O’Brien said the organization uses “state of the art data managing matching technology” and described ERIC as “a simple and effective tool” that previously replaced a less-secure interstate cross-check program.

Secretary of State David Scanlon testified in opposition, saying he has seen helpful information from ERIC but raised three practical objections: that ERIC’s membership rules and operational requirements can be rigid; that membership requires frequent (every 60 days) transfers of voter-registration and motor-vehicle records and specified outreach to potential registrants; and that New Hampshire statutes and confidentiality agreements limit his ability to transfer motor-vehicle data to a third party. “Once that information is given to a third party,” Scanlon said, “I can no longer guarantee the security of that data.” He noted New Hampshire already maintains a statewide voter database and uses HAVA funds to keep it updated.

Committee members questioned witnesses about why several states have withdrawn from ERIC; witnesses answered that departures were driven in some cases by politics, cost or administrative objections, but that ERIC continues to operate in a number of states and remains, in their view, the most readily available interstate matching tool for many jurisdictions.

After public testimony and brief committee discussion about privacy and the operational burden of required data sharing, the committee voted to recommend Inexpedient to Legislate (ITL) on SB 219 by a 3–2 margin. That recommendation reflects the committee’s decision not to advance the bill to the full Senate.