Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin (R) vetoed SB606 on March 8, a bill that would have required the state to rejoin the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). ERIC is a multi-state voter list maintenance compact. The legislation passed the Virginia State Senate 21-19 on Feb. 12, and the House of Delegates 51-49 on Feb. 21. Both votes were along partisan lines, with all Democrats in each chamber voting for passage, and all Republicans in each chamber voting against. A veto override requires a two-thirds vote by both houses of the legislature.
Virginia was a founding member of ERIC in 2012 along with Colorado, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, Utah, and Washington, but withdrew from the organization in 2023. Virginia’s withdrawal came amidst a series of resignations between Nov. 2022 and Oct. 2023 when nine states withdrew from the organization.
According to the ERIC website, “The seven states that founded ERIC believed using state-of-the-art data matching technology, a robust data sharing program built on widely accepted information security standards, and an unprecedented commitment to cooperation would vastly improve their ability to maintain accurate voter rolls. It would also have the added benefit of allowing them to reach out to unregistered, but likely eligible, individuals more efficiently than anyone else.”
