Alabama withdraws from ERIC

Jan. 23, 2023

Friend,

Remember the viral Roomba YouTube post showing a robot vacuum smearing dog excrement across every square inch of a rug? Even these days, if you rave about the wonders of your little Roomba, chances are a doubting Thomas will pooh-pooh the thought and cite fears of fecal spread.

We have to ask, How much raw feces do you have on your floors?

If you're wondering where this message is going, it's this: There are real and imaginary threats in this world. A rational person needs to step back and decide, Is this a real and present danger to my life, my family, and this republic?

Thankfully, husband Jim and I do not own a loose-boweled dog, so pushing the green light on an unsupervised vacuum poses little risk to our household. On the other hand, Michigan's participation in the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a different story entirely. Thankfully, word is spreading.

This month, Alabama’s newly inaugurated Secretary of State followed the lead of Louisiana and suspended participation in ERIC.

I have heard repeatedly as I travelled through the state for the last year and a half that people want us out of ERIC,” Wes Allen stated in a press release. “They don’t want their personal information or the personal information of their children to be sent to this out-of-state group. I promised I would end our participation and that is what I am taking these steps to do.

To cap off the move, ABC News, a member of the all-too-often-silent legacy media, reported the story, titled About ERIC and why Alabama pulled out of the voter information center

As PIME has reported since February 2022, ERIC is a nationwide program that contracts with states to maintain voter rolls and registrations. It claims to help states maintain voter rolls by identifying potential registered voters who have passed away, moved out of state or have duplicate registrations. (See The Facts about ERIC.) But it fails so miserably to do so that one has to question if whether cleaning the rolls is truly ERIC's objective. (See SETTLING THE CONFUSION ABOUT ERIC).

ERIC has come into question due to its roots as a George Soros-funded organization. Other concerns about ERIC include its collection of personal data from voter lists and driver’s license data, which includes minors who are not old enough to vote. (See the enclosed FACT SHEET: ERIC )

Here are a few clips from an article in 1819 News:

A week after his election as Alabama’s next Secretary of State, Wes Allen sent a certified letter to several executives within the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) stating that Alabama would cease participation with the non-profit upon his inauguration on January 16,

Allen's letter reads in part as follows:

Please consider this notice that Alabama will not continue to participate and is officially withdrawing from the Electronic Registration Information Center, Inc. (ERIC) and all of its programs. Upon my inauguration on January 16, 2023, I will issue another letter on official government letterhead again notifying you of Alabama’s withdrawal from ERIC. Upon my swearing in, we will immediately and permanently cease to transmit any information regarding any citizen in the State of Alabama to your organization and will no longer participate in any aspect of the ERIC program.

Allen is setting up a cooperative system within the state of Alabama. He intends to use the USPS Change of Address program to identify potential out-of-state voters. He also plans to work with other agencies, such as the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s driver’s license offices and the Alabama Department of Public Health’s Office of Vital Statistics, to maintain voter rolls.

Alabama pays a fee of around $28,000 a year to be a member of ERIC. Michigan in all likelihood pays more. Allen said that payment would end with the state’s withdrawal from the system.

Some threats to life and liberty are real and imminent. Roomba? Not so much. But ERIC? Absolutely. Just think, 3-employee ERIC has access to 61% of the entire nation's driver aged population and older! Personally identifiable, legally protected information. To make matters worse, because ERIC is a third party, it is not subject to Freedom of Information (FOIA) requests. Transparency is gone under ERIC. Darkness prevails.

Michigan must follow Alabama's and Louisiana's leads and get out of ERIC.

Alert your legislator.

For election integrity in Michigan,

Patrice Johnson, Chair