Fortier on Florida Senate Passage of Interstate Voter Data Sharing Legislation

Washington, D.C.– The following is a statement from John Fortier, director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Democracy Project, on passage today of interstate voter data sharing legislation by the Florida Senate:

“The Florida Senate today voted to enhance the accuracy and security of the state’s voter rolls and, in turn, will help 23 other states improve theirs as well. The newly-passed legislation enables the state to join the bipartisan Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), an interstate compact that shares voter registration information across state lines to assist with list maintenance and to identify eligible but unregistered voters in member states. The Florida House of Representatives unanimously passed identical legislation a few weeks ago.

“The Bipartisan Policy Center continues to educate policymakers across the country about the recommendations issued by the 2013-2014 Presidential Commission on Election Administration. That commission strongly endorsed interstate programs that share data and synchronize voter lists so that states can come as close as possible to creating an accurate database of all eligible voters. BPC helped to educate legislative leaders in the Senate and House about voter registration data sharing through its collaboration with the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections (FSASE).

“BPC has worked with FSASE for several years and convened sessions for administrators and policymakers as recently as December 2017 in Daytona Beach and Tallahassee. Today’s vote means that the third most populous state in the country—and one with a huge proportion of retirees moving from other states—is one step closer to sharing voter registration data with member states around the United States seeking to maintain more accurate voter rolls. That’s good for all Americans.”