DES MOINES – Secretary of State Paul Pate announced today that Iowa becomes the 25th state to join the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). Participation in ERIC will help Iowa election officials improve the accuracy of the voter rolls, register more eligible citizens, reduce costs, and improve efficiencies in the voting process.

"My top two priorities are election integrity and voter participation. Joining ERIC will help us increase both," Secretary Pate said. "Over the next few months, ERIC will help us identify Iowans who are eligible to vote but are not registered. We will send each of them a mailing to encourage them to register to vote and information on how to get it done."

There are approximately 300,000 Iowans who will receive a mailing from the Iowa Secretary of State's Office, encouraging them to register to vote. The $60,000 estimated cost will be paid through a grant from the Pew Research Center.

Participation with ERIC will allow Iowa to collaborate with other states to identify voters who moved inside and outside the state, recently deceased voters, and duplicate registrations.

"ERIC enthusiastically welcomes Iowa state and local election officials to a growing number of election professionals from across the nation dedicated to maintaining accurate voter rolls and improving access to voting for all eligible Americans. Membership in ERIC means cleaner voter rolls and more newly registered voters in Iowa," said Shane Hamlin, executive director for ERIC.

"I want to give a huge thanks to our partners with the Iowa Department of Transportation. They were an enormous help in providing the data necessary to join ERIC, and their portal for online voter registration has helped 90,000 Iowans register to vote over the past two and a half years," Secretary Pate added.

ERIC is a self-governing and self-supporting entity that has been in operation for five years. The 25 states that comprise the partnership have a voting eligible population of 91.8 million people. Privacy and security of voter data is a primary concern for ERIC. Participating states utilize a cryptographic one-way hash to protect personal information, including date of birth, Social Security number, and driver's license number.

A photo of Secretary Pate signing the contract with ERIC is available for your use at this link. Iowa Deputy Commission of Elections Ken Kline is also in the photo.

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