The Electronic Registration Election Center – better known by its acronym, ERIC, may be about to lose another customer: the commonwealth of Kentucky. After Monday’s meeting of the state Board of Elections, Secretary of State Michael Adams spoke about potentially leaving a system he said helped eliminate 320-thousand ineligible Kentucky voters – about half of them dead – from the voting rolls.
“There's no policy rationale in favor of voter rolls that are not accurate. Every government record should be accurate. And this is one of the things I promised I would do if I were elected. And we've done it. And Eric's been a big part of that.”
Adams said he likes ERIC, but with at least seven Republican states exiting the states-run system over conspiracy theories, the information ERIC can provide will decrease and the cost will increase. Adams is asking a U.S. District judge for clarification on whether Kentucky can use other sources for such information, but said he’s frustrated by the misinformation that’s led to the ERIC exits.
“I kind of hate having my hand forced by what other states do I have no control over what other state politics are or what guides people's decisions, I just, it's out of my authority.”
Adams said he says he’ll speak to the bipartisan state Board of Elections before making a decision about ERIC.
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