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House votes to remove ERIC and codify AVID; lawmakers debate voter-roll checks, credit-bureau use
Summary
House Bill 479 removes the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) from state code and formally authorizes the Alabama Voter Integrity Database (AVID); the bill drew extensive floor debate over data sources used for voter-roll maintenance, including Experian/credit bureau data and postcard notification processes.
The Alabama House voted April 22 to remove the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) from state code and to authorize the Alabama Voter Integrity Database (AVID) for voter-roll maintenance, approving House Bill 479 as a substitute after extended floor debate.
“Alabama participated in the electronic registration information center,” sponsor Representative Brignard told the chamber. “This bill removes ERIC as the database that we use.” He described AVID as the state’s system for matching its voter registry against multiple sources of residency and status information.
During floor discussion, Representative Clark (Mobile) questioned the use of privately held credit-bureau data in the verification process. “I just don't think we should be using that information to verify somebody's residency,” she said, reporting constituent complaints about receiving postcard notices and concerns about Experian data. Clark offered a floor amendment to prohibit reliance on credit bureaus; the amendment was laid on the table after a roll call.
Mike Jones (Secretary of State's office) and staff explained AVID's data sources on the floor. The AVID system, sponsors said, ingests multiple feeds including state-to-state memoranda of understanding, the U.S. Postal Service National Change of Address file, the Social Security death index, state driver's license updates (Aaliyah), and information from cooperating states. Sponsors told the House that AVID has been in use by the secretary of state's office since 2023 and that several neighboring and regional states have signed memoranda of understanding to share data.
Representative Hassell and other members raised concerns about the system's cost, staffing and the experience of other states that left ERIC and then returned; Secretary of State's staff said AVID has been managed without additional staff or an added state appropriation and that the switch reduced a prior ERIC subscription cost of about $30,000 per year.
The House adopted the bill’s BIR (74–23) and later adopted the floor substitute. Final passage was recorded 74–28 in favor; sponsors stated the law will codify AVID-based list maintenance procedures and maintain safeguards for consumers, including procedures to notify local boards of registrars when records are flagged for review.
The bill includes mechanisms for postcard notification, authentication of consumer requests, and limits on how flagged records are handled (inactive status rather than automatic removal unless other conditions are met). Opponents asked for stronger guardrails on the use of commercially sourced credit data and for clearer administrative rules to ensure elderly and disabled voters are not disenfranchised through unsolicited notices.
