Why are Republicans abandoning one of the best tools out
there to catch voter fraud?
It's called ERIC.
It's a partnership that lets states know when their voters
move, die, or vote more than once in different states,
which is illegal and rare.
It's one of the best fraud fighting tools that we
have.
That's Ohio Secretary of State Frank LaRose.
He said that in February, but he pulled out of
Eric a month later.
These eight Republican states have all pulled out of the
program.
These lighter orange ones are still in.
So what happened?
Well, our investigation traced it back to a key week
in January 2022.
That's when a far-right website called the Gateway Pundit started
targeting Eric with conspiracy theories.
It called the partnership a left-wing ploy to register voters.
Then, just a week later, Louisiana became the first state
to pull out.
The Secretary of State's decision shocked the voting world, but
his motivations became clearer after we found this video of
him announcing the decision to a cheering group of conservative
activists.
Suspending Louisiana's participation in that program.
So what does all this mean for 2024?
Less data sharing means less accurate voter rolls.
For voters, that can mean longer lines and mail getting
sent to the wrong places.
But in the bigger picture.
This is a blueprint for how conspiracy theories can turn
into policy.