Thread by @beckerdavidj

Last week, @GovRonDeSantis and @FLSecofState announced that FL would be joining @ericstates_info, joining ~30 other states in ensuring their voter lists are as accurate and complete as possible, registering thousands of new voters, and protecting FL’s election integrity. /1

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info But earlier this week, @fineout reported that former Gov. Scott declined to join ERIC because Pew had funded the initial development of ERIC and “he did not believe it was right to share the personal information of every Florida voter with a liberal think tank.”

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout But former Gov. Scott is mistaken about ERIC and how it works, which is disappointing. /3
politico.com/states/florida…

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout I led the effort to create @ericstates_info, and it’s important to note that ERIC is an independent 501c(3), run by the ~30 states that are members. These states are as red as AL, LA, & SC, and as blue as CT, IL, & OR. /4

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout The member states serve as the board of directors (each having a seat), and the current chair of the board is the election director for the Republican SOS of NV. /5

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout No think tank, “liberal” or otherwise, has ever had access to any data in ERIC, and never will. /6

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout The states are securely sharing the data (one-way hashed for privacy) with themselves, to ensure more registered voters, and to keep up with mobility between the states, so that voters aren’t accidentally registered in 2 states simultaneously. /7

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout So FL will now be able to ensure its voter rolls are accurate in advance of Nov. 2020, while also inviting millions of eligible but unregistered citizens to register. This is why the FL Supervisors of Elections had “for years been asking the state to take the step.” /8

@GovRonDeSantis @FLSecofState @ericstates_info @fineout Kudos to @GovRonDeSantis, @FLSecofState, and especially all the FL Supervisors of Elections of both parties who’ve worked to so hard to join ERIC, to ensure all eligible FL voters can be registered, and vote in a system with maximum integrity. /9