A bill that removes Georgia from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) system is making its way through the House of Representatives. House Bill 215 by state Rep. Martin Momtahan, R-Dallas, has cleared the House Governmental Affairs Committee and now heads to the Rules Committee. The bill is known as the Voter List Integrity Act.
Momtahan says Georgia should follow several other states in moving away from the ERIC system in favor of more state-based solutions.
“Some of this has to do with voter data and confidentiality,” Momtahan said. “Obviously, sending that information to a third party is not always foolproof or safe from a cybersecurity standpoint.”
According to Josh McKoon, Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, 10 states that had previously been members of ERIC have already quit the organization, citing the partisanship and data privacy concerns. He went on to say that every state around Georgia has quit ERIC and South Carolina has legislation to do the same.
“Georgia taxpayers have been spending nearly $100,000 annually only to have bloated voter rolls,” said McKoon. “This bill will allow counties to conduct thorough voter list maintenance without compromising the privacy of Georgia’s citizens”
McKoon went on to say that this legislation prohibits the Secretary of State from sharing sensitive private voter information with third party groups that share voter data outside of the explicit purpose of removing deceased, duplicate, or otherwise ineligible voters from the voter rolls.
“We commend Rep. Martin Momtahan for his strong election integrity efforts.” McKoon added. “This bill is the result of the work of the Georgia Republican Party Election Confidence Task Force.”
There is not a companion bill in the Senate. However, there are two elections integrity bills in the Senate that have the support of the Georgia Republican Party. Senate Bill 270, sponsored by Sen. Sam Watson, R-Moultrie, addresses various aspects of election administration, focusing on the rules and regulations related to election processes, specifically in the context of primaries, general elections, and runoffs.
It states that hand-delivered absentee ballots will not be accepted after the end of advance voting, except under specific conditions such as delivery by mail or under federal laws pertaining to overseas and military voters. The legislation does provide for supervised events at facilities like nursing homes or assisted living facilities, where residents can receive help with their absentee ballots. These events must be notified to relevant candidates and parties, and a supervised assistance team must handle the ballots.
Senate Bill 214 by state Sen. Max Burns, R-Sylvania, also addresses absentee voting, as well as transparency and reporting.
The Senate Ethics Committee held a hearing on SB 214 late Thursday, but no vote was taken. As of late Thursday, a hearing date had not been set for SB 270.
