Republican leaders (Like NC Speaker of the House Tim Moore (R) and President Pro Tempore of the NC Senate, Phil Berger) in the North Carolina General Assembly have stated repeatedly, in the face of complaints about ERIC, that the group ERIC) will not be removed from the state budget. There were only 3 Republican excused absences in the Senate. All other Republicans voted for this Leftist scheme. NC House NC Senate
Please make this a November election issue with your lawmakers.
We need to hold them accountable.
They need to tell you HOW they are going to undo this!
More information and evidence is coming regarding ERIC ties to the radical Left.
Election Integrity has been a HUGE issue during recent years. A lot of grassroots groups on both sides of the aisle have been taking on the issue and paying close attention to related developments. Several red flags went up when the budget bill was passed by The North Carolina General Assembly.
The bill includes authorization for North Carolina to join and send money to something called the Electronic Records Information Center (ERIC). Critics see ERIC as a foot-soldier for the left wing seeking to take America on a long-term leftward trajectory. Others see it as an important resource for cleaning up voter rolls and ensuring the widest possible participation in voting. (Heck, even the John Locke Foundation is endorsing the idea of North Carolina aligning with these folks. )
Alabama has had some recent drama with ERIC. A candidate for that state’s secretary of state post has raised several red flags:
A nationwide program that the state of Alabama contracts with to maintain voter information is coming into question after an Alabama Secretary of State candidate announced he will withdraw the state from the program if he is elected. Rep. Wes Allen (R), said the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) is a George Soros-funded organization.
“Alabama taxpayers do not want their information provided to a Soros-funded, leftist group like ERIC,” Allen said. Current Secretary of State John Merrill, who is term-limited from running again, signed a contract between the state and ERIC in 2015. The state pays a fee of $28,000 per year, which Merrill feels is a good deal for the services offered. “No state has the capacity to do what ERIC does,’’ Merrill said. “No state has the financial resources to do what ERIC does. No state has the ability, the personnel, or the extra budget to do what ERIC does.
“So if they can’t do it, how are you going to do that work,” Merrill asked? As for the Soros’ allegations, Merrill said, “The problem is, ignorant people have information introduced to them, they get a toenail sliver piece of it, and they think it’s enough to write a master’s thesis because they heard somebody say that George Soros was supportive of ERIC and he helped create it.” Allen disagrees. “Through the Pew Charitable Trust, their funding partner is Open Society,” said Allen. “Well, Open Society is George Soros. So, even though the Soros money may have been all spent by now, there’s no dispute that Soros’ money helped feed the project. “Alabama can police our own voter rolls,” Allen added. “Paying about $25,000 a year in taxpayer money to a private non-profit organization – I think Alabama has the resources to do it ourselves.” According to its website, ERIC is a non-profit organization whose mission is to assist states in improving the accuracy of its voter rolls and increase access to voter registration for all eligible citizens. It was formed in 2012 with assistance from The Pew Charitable Trusts. ERIC claims to help states maintain voter rolls by identifying potential registered voters who have passed away, moved out of state or have duplicate registrations. In Alabama, Merrill said ERIC has identified more than 19,000 potential dead voters, more than 22,000 potential cross-state movers, and more than 24,000 voter records of potential duplicates. Merrill also said ERIC can assist in locating and removing illegal immigrants from voting. However, the state’s contract with ERIC, which Merrill provided to 1819 News, states, “Under no circumstances shall the members transmit any record indicating an individual is a non-citizen of the U.S.’’ As of October 2021, 31 states plus the District of Columbia were members of ERIC. However, Louisiana recently suspended its participation after allegations against the program surfaced.
In a press release, Allen claimed ERIC was originally managed by David Becker, a well-known Democrat election lawyer who became the architect of ERIC after serving in the Justice Department during the Obama Administration. Becker created the Center for Election Innovation and Research, the same organization accused in 2020 of distributing millions from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to Democrat-led counties.
“I don’t know how Alabama got mixed up with these people, but nothing like this will ever happen under my watch if I am elected to serve as Alabama’s next Secretary of State,’’ Allen said. “Soros can take his minions and his database and troll someone else because Alabamians are going to be off-limits – permanently.”
Allen is not the only one concerned with ERIC. Members of the state legislature are considering legislation to end the state’s contract with the organization. Alaska, Colorado, Louisiana, and the District of Columbia, which are members of ERIC, are being sued for blocking a review of voter registration records. […]
Republican leaders in the North Carolina General Assembly have stated repeatedly, in the face of complaints about ERIC, that the group will not be removed from the state budget.