Governor Ron DeSantis today announced that Florida will join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) as part of his administration’s ongoing efforts to enhance the security and integrity of Florida’s elections. By joining ERIC, Florida will be able to crosscheck voter registration data with 29 other member states in order to identify duplicate registrations and outdated records from voters who have moved or passed away, leading to cleaner and more accurate voter registration rolls.
“One of my administration’s top priorities is protecting the integrity of Florida’s elections, which is why joining ERIC is the right thing to do for our state as it will ensure our voter rolls are up-to-date and it will increase voter participation in our elections,” said Governor DeSantis.“Since taking office, we have been reviewing this issue with Supervisors of Elections. We are confident that by improving the accuracy of our voter rolls, we will reduce the potential for voter fraud.”
In addition to enhancing the accuracy of voter rolls, ERIC also improves voter registration by providing information for member states to contact potentially eligible but unregistered voters with instructions on how to register to vote. The outreach to potentially eligible voters is conducted every two years ahead of each federal general election.
“I want to thank Governor DeSantis for his support of Florida joining ERIC,” said Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee. “From election security to voter registration, Governor DeSantis has taken action to put Florida in the best posture possible for safe and secure elections with accurate voter registration rolls and minimal voter fraud.”
“Supervisors of Elections have long advocated for Florida to join ERIC as it is an incredible tool to help ensure our voter rolls are accurate,” said Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections President Tammy Jones. “On behalf of all Supervisors, I thank Governor DeSantis for his tremendous leadership on this issue.”
Since taking office, Governor DeSantis has made securing Florida’s elections and protecting voter information a top priority. At the Governor’s direction, Secretary Lee is currently working with all 67 county Supervisors of Elections on a Joint Election Security Initiative that will identify any weaknesses or vulnerabilities in Florida’s elections infrastructure. Additionally, Governor DeSantis supported the redistribution of more than $2.3 million in election security grants to Supervisors of Elections.
Today’s announcement follows Governor DeSantis’ directive to initiate a review of elections systems security and cybersecurity throughout the state in order to ensure Florida’s elections infrastructure at the state and local level is protected. The DOS and Florida’s 67 County Supervisors of Elections are also engaged in a cooperative cybersecurity initiative ahead of the 2020 election.
Additionally, Governor DeSantis recently supported the redistribution of $2.3 million in unexpended funds to Supervisors of Elections to support their continued efforts to enhance election security. This was is in addition to the $2.8 million appropriated by the Florida Legislature for the upcoming fiscal year. In total, the state provided $5.1 million for elections cybersecurity as we head into 2020.
