Virginia’s Return to Multistate Voter Roll Program Praised by Advocates
Voting rights advocates have expressed support for a recent executive order in Virginia, which reinstates the state’s participation in a multistate voter roll program and imposes limits on the removal of voters from rolls prior to elections.
Earlier this week, Governor Abigail Spanberger (D) signed an executive order that reverses the 2023 decision by former Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) to exit the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC). ERIC is a nonpartisan organization that facilitates the sharing of voter registration and identification data among 26 member states.
This system plays a crucial role in identifying voters who have passed away, relocated out of state, updated their contact information, or have duplicate registrations in Virginia.
Governor Spanberger’s order also restricts the removal of ineligible voters from the rolls to 90 days before a federal primary or general election, impacting this year’s congressional midterm primary in August and the general election in November.
“With even more days of voting on our calendar this year, I’m acting early to strengthen Virginia’s transparent, robust voting process and protect the rights of all eligible Virginia voters,” Spanberger stated in a release.
Joan Porte, president of the League of Women Voters of Virginia, commented to ARLnow that the previous withdrawal from ERIC complicated efforts to maintain accurate voter rolls. She noted, “What she did by returning us to ERIC is to make it easier for us to exchange information with these 27 states, so that we can check and make sure that if someone has moved, they should be removed from the Virginia voter rolls.” Porte criticized the prior approach as inefficient and unnecessary.
Porte also addressed the unfounded claims against ERIC, labeling them a “ridiculous conspiracy theory” about voter fraud, which studies, including one by the Heritage Foundation, have debunked. She provided an example where election officers prevented Youngkin’s underage son from voting.
Chris Kaiser, a policy director at the Virginia ACLU, remarked that Spanberger’s executive order addresses past actions that disenfranchised voters. By enforcing the 90-day rule for voter roll changes and rejoining ERIC, Kaiser believes “the Commonwealth can restore critical guardrails against wrongful disenfranchisement, ensure clarity and integrity in Virginia’s electoral system, and reaffirm the unalienable truth that in order for democracy to function as intended, every eligible voter must have the opportunity to participate in the democratic process.”
The League of Women Voters of Virginia is actively challenging the state’s voter roll purges in court, an action initiated by Youngkin’s executive order, which they argue violates the National Voting Rights Act requirement that voter roll removals cannot occur within 90 days of a federal election.
Porte emphasized the importance of maintaining updated and protected voter rolls, cautioning against removing voters based on unreliable data.
Legislation within the General Assembly may further solidify Spanberger’s order. SB 57 by Sen. Schuyler T. VanValkenburg (D-16) mandates Virginia’s ERIC membership and awaits the governor’s decision by April 13. Meanwhile, HB 28 by Del. Rozia Henson (D-19), proposing a 90-day deadline before federal elections for voter roll adjustments, has been postponed until 2027. This bill also aims to establish a process for confirming citizenship status before voter cancellation.
