Subcommittee approves amendment to let Secretary of State enter interstate voter-list compacts after debate over ERIC membership

The subcommittee considered House Bill 215, which would regulate how the state participates in multi‑state voter‑list maintenance organizations and restrict sharing of certain voter registration data with non‑governmental entities. The measure drew extended testimony from the Secretary of State’s office, voting‑access groups and critics who raised privacy and data‑security concerns.

Representative Montahan, the sponsor, described the bill as intended to require that voter‑list maintenance be handled through state‑based solutions rather than by third‑party organizations when those organizations are no longer broadly effective. He said the state previously joined ERIC (the Electronic Registration Information Center) under a 2019 statute and conducted list maintenance through ERIC beginning in 2021,…