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Opinion | Lawmakers must prioritize free, fair and secure elections
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As veteran election officials in Michigan, we write to share our thoughts regarding current budget discussions — specifically the proposals to withdraw from the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) and the Secretary of State’s budget as passed by the House.
Michigan’s ERIC Participation
ERIC is a longstanding, bipartisan partnership utilized by states across the political spectrum to maintain accurate voter rolls. It has proven invaluable in identifying ineligible voters, including voters who have moved out of state and deceased registrants, helping ensure election integrity.
Withdrawing from ERIC would not only sever Michigan’s access to this cost-effective, interstate information-sharing network — it would also impose heavier financial burdens on taxpayers. For example, in Virginia, after withdrawing from the partnership, the state had to pay over $3,400 just for access to death records and nearly $29,000 to have those records matched against its voter rolls — services that had been previously provided to them at no additional cost.
ERIC provides these services by pooling resources across member states, making it both more reliable, more comprehensive, and more affordable than going it alone. Without it, Michigan will face higher costs, less accurate data and an increased risk of individuals being registered to vote in multiple states. Remaining in the partnership is fiscally responsible and protects taxpayer dollars while sustaining high-quality list maintenance.
If you care about accurate voter lists and the integrity of our elections, remaining in this partnership is a must for Michigan.
Funding Election Officials
The proposed budget eliminates numerous positions within the Department of State and shifts $10.5 million in election funding from the Secretary of State’s office to the Michigan Department of Treasury, transferring responsibility for local election grants.
As conservatives, we appreciate and support efforts to make government work more efficiently and effectively. However, eliminating positions and restructuring responsibilities must not weaken the critical administrative support and funding the state provides to local clerks and that ensures smooth elections.
County, city, and township clerks know what the voters in their communities need for secure, fair and accurate elections. Let’s make sure local clerks don’t have to jump through additional government hoops, get tangled in red tape or have to beg bureaucrats for the funding they need and the Legislature intended to provide.
Local election officials are the backbone of secure, accurate, and transparent elections, especially in a decentralized state like Michigan. With so many changes to elections in the last several years, the cost of running them has increased drastically. It’s more important than ever for the state to invest in elections at the local level so that we have the resources needed to implement and administer them securely and accurately.
States that have invested well in their election infrastructure have demonstrated that consistent funding leads to stronger election security and higher levels of voter confidence.
However this budget shakes out, we implore you to ensure that ample funding for our 21st century elections is one of the Legislature’s highest priorities.
Michigan can best uphold the virtues of free, fair, and secure elections by maintaining its membership in ERIC and ensuring that local election officials have the stable, adequate resources they need to carry out their responsibilities. These two matters underscore critical hallmarks of conservatism, which we know you support: fiscal responsibility, election integrity and sustaining public trust in the cornerstone of our republic: American elections.
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