Virginia Reverses Course, Rejoins Voter Data-Sharing Group ERIC to Bolster Election Integrity

Nearly three years after ditching the Electronic Registration Information Center, Virginia is back in the game. Governor Abigail Spanberger announced the commonwealth’s return to ERIC on Thursday, making Virginia the 27th member of the nonprofit that enables states to share voter registration data securely and legally.

ERIC was founded in 2012 by a bipartisan coalition of seven states, including Virginia, with the clear goal of improving election integrity through better voter roll maintenance. The nonprofit provides states with reports on cross-state movers, duplicates, deceased voters, and in-state movers — all crucial tools to keep voter lists accurate and up to date.

Virginia’s departure in 2023 came under former Governor Glenn Youngkin’s administration, amid conservative complaints that ERIC’s policies violated its nonpartisan charter. The state cited rising membership costs and concerns about data stewardship and privacy. The controversy was also fueled by a broader conservative narrative alleging widespread noncitizen voting — a claim lacking evidence and repeatedly debunked by fact-checkers. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, has documented fewer than 100 noncitizen voting cases since 1982, underscoring the rarity of such incidents.

Spanberger’s executive order from March made clear that Virginia’s exit from ERIC had hampered election officials’ ability to maintain voter rolls effectively. The governor emphasized the importance of ERIC’s data-sharing in identifying voters who have moved or become ineligible, a key step in removing ineligible voters within 90 days of federal primaries and general elections.

This move also highlights the fractured landscape of voter data sharing. Some conservative states that left ERIC have pursued alternative, less comprehensive systems like Alabama’s Voter Integrity Database (AVID), which lacks ERIC’s broad membership and access to motor-vehicle bureau data — one of the most reliable cross-checks for voter registration accuracy.

Virginia’s return to ERIC signals a recommitment to transparent, bipartisan tools that strengthen democracy and counter baseless claims of voter fraud. In a time when election denialism threatens the foundation of American democracy, states like Virginia are choosing facts over fiction and accountability over conspiracy.