Right-wing conspiracies have a new target: a tool that fights actual voter fraud

Right-wing conspiracies¹ have a new target: a tool that fights actual voter fraud

Transcript²

If Republicans over the past few years have made one thing clear, it's that they really care about voter fraud.

Sometimes they call it "election irregularities" or "shenanigans," but the issue has become a calling card for a party whose voters by and large falsely think elections in the U.S. are tainted³.

Which is what makes a currently blossoming election conspiracy⁴ so strange: The far right is now running a disinformation campaign against one of the best tools that states have to detect and prevent voter fraud.

And experts worry voting policy is already starting to suffer as a result.

A data-sharing revolution

The tool is a shared database called the Electronic Registration⁵ Information Center, or ERIC for short. It allows states to securely share voter registration data across state lines and with a number of other government agencies, like the Social Security Administration and departments of motor vehicles.

That data-sharing allows participating states to expand ballot⁶ access by giving officials information that helps them reach out to eligible⁷ voters who have moved into the jurisdiction⁸ but have not yet registered to vote. But it also increases election security by notifying those same officials when a registered voter moves away or dies, allowing states to maintain more accurate voter rolls.

"When you move away from a state, you don't call your old state and say, 'Please take me off the voter lists,' " said David Becker, an elections expert and former Justice Department attorney who led the development of ERIC while working at the Pew Charitable Trusts. "So to get really strong data that someone moved to another state — got a driver's license⁹ there or maybe registered to vote — that's really powerful information that allows states to keep their data up to date."

The decade-old program now includes more than 30 states spanning the political spectrum¹⁰, from Republican-led places like Alabama and South Carolina to more liberal states like Connecticut and Oregon. And it's helped states remove more than 500,000 dead people from voter rolls since its founding, according to a tracker on the partnership¹¹ website.

But that bipartisan unity¹² is being tested, as some pockets of conservative media have ignited a pressure campaign against ERIC.

'Cutting their nose to spite their face'

On Jan. 20, the far-right blog The Gateway¹³ Pundit¹⁴ published the first of a number of articles about the program, falsely implying it is part of a left-wing election conspiracy.

Seven days later, Louisiana withdrew its membership, becoming the first state since ERIC's founding to do so.

Louisiana Secretary of State Kyle Ardoin announced the move quietly in a press release, citing "concerns raised by citizens, government watchdog organizations and media reports."

His office declined an interview request from NPR, but a member of Ardoin's staff said the secretary is still in touch with ERIC staff "to better understand the mechanics of ERIC" despite having "serious reservations."

Other Republican election officials told NPR the far-right misinformation campaign is reverberating¹⁵ in their states, too.

"We have had a number of emails from some very ill-informed, uninformed or uneducated people," said Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, a Republican.

Merrill is a supporter of former President Donald Trump¹⁶, but also of ERIC. He's not running for reelection this fall, however, and at least one Republican candidate to replace Merrill has announced he would withdraw the state from ERIC should he be elected.

That far-right pushback has been somewhat frustrating¹⁷ to Merrill, who noted¹⁸ the system provides the only way states have to accurately¹⁹ check whether someone has illegally cast a ballot in the same election in two states.

"It helps identify duplicate registrations," Merrill said. "It helps identify dual²⁰ participation²¹ in elections. That's a concern [and] there's no other way that any state in the union can do that independently of ERIC."

So why is this system being targeted then?

Becker, who now runs the nonpartisan Center for Election Innovation & Research, says it's because election deniers don't actually want voting to be more secure or efficient. It's the same reason, he says, they often oppose ballot drop boxes even though they are considered a more secure way to return mail ballots²² than using the Postal²³ Service.

"They don't care about actual integrity," Becker said. "They only care that their side wins. That is the most anti-democratic idea that I can imagine."

In a Twitter thread posted shortly after Louisiana's decision, Becker noted that since the state joined ERIC in 2014, the program has identified more than 16,000 dead people on Louisiana's voting lists and more than 54,000 people who have moved out of the state. But by choosing to leave, the state will no longer have access to that data.

"If a state leaves ERIC, what they're doing is cutting their nose to spite their face," Becker said. "They're handcuffing their ability to keep their lists accurate."

1 conspiracies   

n.阴谋，密谋( conspiracy的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was still alive and hatching his conspiracies. 他还活着，策划着阴谋诡计。 来自辞典例句
• It appeared that they had engaged in fresh conspiracies from the very moment of their release. 看上去他们刚给释放，立刻开始新一轮的阴谋活动。 来自英汉文学

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 tainted   

adj.腐坏的；污染的；沾污的；感染的v.使变质( taint的过去式和过去分词 )；使污染；败坏；被污染，腐坏，败坏

参考例句：

• The administration was tainted with scandal. 丑闻使得政府声名狼藉。
• He was considered tainted by association with the corrupt regime. 他因与腐败政府有牵连而名誉受损。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 conspiracy   

n.阴谋，密谋，共谋

参考例句：

• The men were found guilty of conspiracy to murder.这些人被裁决犯有阴谋杀人罪。
• He claimed that it was all a conspiracy against him.他声称这一切都是一场针对他的阴谋。

5 registration   

n.登记，注册，挂号

参考例句：

• Marriage without registration is not recognized by law.法律不承认未登记的婚姻。
• What's your registration number?你挂的是几号？

6 ballot   

n.（不记名）投票，投票总数，投票权；vi.投票

参考例句：

• The members have demanded a ballot.会员们要求投票表决。
• The union said they will ballot members on whether to strike.工会称他们将要求会员投票表决是否罢工。

7 eligible   

adj.有条件被选中的；(尤指婚姻等)合适(意)的

参考例句：

• He is an eligible young man.他是一个合格的年轻人。
• Helen married an eligible bachelor.海伦嫁给了一个中意的单身汉。

8 jurisdiction   

n.司法权，审判权，管辖权，控制权

参考例句：

• It doesn't lie within my jurisdiction to set you free.我无权将你释放。
• Changzhou is under the jurisdiction of Jiangsu Province.常州隶属江苏省。

9 license   

n.执照，许可证，特许；v.许可，特许

参考例句：

• The foreign guest has a license on the person.这个外国客人随身携带执照。
• The driver was arrested for having false license plates on his car.司机由于使用假车牌而被捕。

10 spectrum   

n.谱，光谱，频谱；范围，幅度，系列

参考例句：

• This is a kind of atomic spectrum.这是一种原子光谱。
• We have known much of the constitution of the solar spectrum.关于太阳光谱的构成，我们已了解不少。

11 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

12 unity   

n.团结，联合，统一；和睦，协调

参考例句：

• When we speak of unity,we do not mean unprincipled peace.所谓团结，并非一团和气。
• We must strengthen our unity in the face of powerful enemies.大敌当前，我们必须加强团结。

13 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

14 pundit   

n.博学之人；权威

参考例句：

• Even the outstanding excellent graduate will learn constantly if he likes to be a pundit.即使最优秀的结业生，要想成为一个博学的人也要不断地研究。
• He is a well known political pundit.他是一个著名的政治专家。

15 reverberating   

回响，回荡( reverberate的现在分词 )； 使反响，使回荡，使反射

参考例句：

• The words are still ringing [reverberating] in one's ears. 言犹在耳。
• I heard a voice reverberating: "Crawl out! I give you liberty!" 我听到一个声音在回荡：“爬出来吧，我给你自由！”

16 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

17 frustrating   

adj.产生挫折的，使人沮丧的，令人泄气的v.使不成功( frustrate的现在分词 )；挫败；使受挫折；令人沮丧

参考例句：

• It's frustrating to have to wait so long. 要等这么长时间，真令人懊恼。
• It was a demeaning and ultimately frustrating experience. 那是一次有失颜面并且令人沮丧至极的经历。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

19 accurately   

adv.准确地，精确地

参考例句：

• It is hard to hit the ball accurately.准确地击中球很难。
• Now scientists can forecast the weather accurately.现在科学家们能准确地预报天气。

20 dual   

adj.双的；二重的，二元的

参考例句：

• The people's Republic of China does not recognize dual nationality for any Chinese national.中华人民共和国不承认中国公民具有双重国籍。
• He has dual role as composer and conductor.他兼作曲家及指挥的双重身分。

21 participation   

n.参与，参加，分享

参考例句：

• Some of the magic tricks called for audience participation.有些魔术要求有观众的参与。
• The scheme aims to encourage increased participation in sporting activities.这个方案旨在鼓励大众更多地参与体育活动。

22 ballots   

n.投票表决( ballot的名词复数 )；选举；选票；投票总数v.（使）投票表决( ballot的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• They're counting the ballots. 他们正在计算选票。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The news of rigged ballots has rubbed off much of the shine of their election victory. 他们操纵选票的消息使他们在选举中获得的胜利大为减色。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。