The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for Oct. 22, 2025

In 2023, under pressure from election conspiracy activists, Texas and nine other red states left the multi-state cooperative called ERIC. which helped keep state voter rolls clean.  Two years later, local election officials are asking Texas state election officials for immediate fixes to its reportedly erratic home-grown voter registration system, called TEAM. 

Governor Greg Abbott signed SB1070 in June 2023, authorizing state officials to create a state-run “interstate voter registration crosscheck” system, which was integrated in an overhaul of a system used by election officials to collect and verify a voter’s registration information.   

Over two years later and on the eve of the TEAM system’s rollout, Votebeat Texas reports that four organizations representing Texas elections officials cited cited inconsistent system behavior, only intermittent and under-resourced support, and statewide training gaps. 

Just last month, Texas Secretary of State Jane Nelson announced agreements with nine states to share and compare voter registration data, in an effort to replace the Electronic Registration Information Center’s sophisticated data processing capability to identify voters who moved, died, or registered in more than one state.  

The Texas election officials said in their letter, “The current state of the TEAM rollout creates undue risk to voters and the integrity of election officials,” and urged action before November 4th.

We’ve linked to local reporting at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

American Democracy Minute – States Are Leaving the ERIC Voter Registration Cross Referencing System.  Why?  Conspiracy Theories.  
American Democracy Minute – Texas Withdraws from ERIC, But the State Has Yet to Implement an Alternative to Keep Its Voter Lists Clean
Texas Tribune – Texas begins withdrawal from multistate partnership to clean voter rolls
LegisScan – Texas Senate Bill 1070
Texas Secretary of State – Texas signs agreements with nine states to strengthen election integrity

Votebeat Texas – Texas election officials ask state to halt rollout of updated TEAM voter registration system

Letter from Texas Election Officials – Collective Association TEAM Concerns

Groups Taking Action:

Campaign Legal Center, Brennan Center for Justice, League of Women Voters

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State

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#News #Democracy #DemocracyNews #Texas #ElectionIntegrity #ConspiracyTheories #ElectionWorkers

The post Election Officials Urge Immediate Fixes to New Texas Voter Registration System, Part of the State’s Effort to Replace ERIC appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for July 22, 2025

The U.S. Department of Justice sent letters to 12 secretaries of state requesting their complete voter records as part of President Trump’s executive order on elections.  The reason for the request isn’t completely clear, nor is the legality of such a request, which may violate the privacy and free speech rights of U.S. citizens.

Back in May we reported that DOJ requested records on Colorado’s 4.65 million registered voters. To date, similar letters have been received by Alaska, Arizona, Florida, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and Wisconsin.   

An email sent to Rhode Island officials from the DOJ’s Civil Rights division asks to collect QUOTE, … Voting information as part of the Department’s efforts

to implement President Trump’s Executive Order, ‘Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections.’”  It goes on to request a discussion on sharing information to find illegally registered voters, fraudulent voters and enforcement of federal election law.  New Hampshire’s secretary of state declined, citing state statute keeping voter rolls “private and confidential”.  

In addition to the herculean logistics of such a request, Loyola Marymount Law School’s Justin Levitt writes that such requests may not be legal under the Privacy Act of 1974, prohibiting the federal government from obtaining information on free speech activities, including voting and other personal information. 

We’ve linked the DOJ letters at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

Stateline/States Newsroom – Trump’s DOJ wants states to turn over voter lists, election info
Democracy Docket – All the States Where DOJ is Demanding Voting Data 
Rhode Island Current – DOJ asked about R.I. voter rolls 8 days ago. Secretary of State Gregg Amore hasn’t answered yet.
Rhode Island Current – Email from DOJ to Rhode Island Election Officials 
New Hampshire Public Radio – NH Secretary of State rebuffs Trump administration request for state’s voter roll
New Hampshire Public Radio – DOJ Letter to NH Secretary of State 
Election Law Blog – Professor Justin Levitt, Loyola Merrymount Law School – The recent rash of DOJ voter file “requests”

Groups Taking Action:

ACLU, League of Women Voters, LULAC

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #VoterRolls #TrumpDOJ #FreeSpeech #Privacy

The post The U.S. Department of Justice is Requesting All Voter Records for 12 States, Likely a Violation of Privacy and Free Speech Rights appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for July 30, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

When citizens move or die, voter registration lists need to be updated as part of routine list hygiene.  But when lists are aggressively purged, particularly close to an election, it crosses the line into voter suppression. 

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp signed Senate Bill 189 in May, allowing voters to be removed from the rolls as little as 45 days before an election.  SB 189 also allows citizens an unlimited number of voter eligibility challenges. In addition to Georgia’s purge of over 190,000 voters in 2023, activists are expected to challenge thousands more at the polls.  

Wyoming employed its new “use it or lose it” law in May to remove 28% of its registered voters, according to reporting by WyoFile. The law requires any voter not voting in the prior midterm or general election to be removed from its voter rolls.  

The Ohio Capital Journal reported July 25th that Ohio’s secretary of state posted a list of over 158,000 voters scheduled to be purged prior to the Presidential election.   The executive director of the Ohio Unity Coalition, speaking to Dayton Now said, “What we know is that 50% of these voters are registered in Ohio counties where a majority of Black and Brown population live.”  

Voters should check the status of their registration online or with their local election officials.  Find links at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Brennan Center for Justice – Explainer: Voter Purges

Voting Rights Lab – New Laws Risk Purging Eligible Voters in Advance of This Year’s Elections
Atlanta News First – More than 190K names removed from Georgia voter roll ahead of 2024 election
WyoFile – Wyoming voids 28% of its voter registrations in mandatory purge
Ohio Capital Journal – Ohio’s voter purge “disproportionately targets voters of color”, civil rights organizations say

Democracy Docket – Georgia Governor Signs Three Voter Suppression Laws
Associated Press – In Georgia, conservatives seek to have voters removed from rolls without official challenges
Dayton Now – Groups criticize Ohio Secretary of State LaRose for making over 158,000 voters inactive
Essence – Black People Are Getting Removed From Voter Rolls And More Purges Could Be On The Way

Check Your Voter Registration

• U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State
• USA Vote Foundation – Registration, Eligibility, State Election Office Links
• Vote.Gov – Register to Vote in Your State
• Vote.Org – Check Your Registration to Vote

Groups Taking Action:

Ohio Organizing Collaborative, Ohio Unity Coalition, Common Cause Georgia, Fair Fight, ACLU Wyoming

The post When Voter Registration Purges Cross the Line from Standard Practice into Suppression appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for March 1, 2024

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Last year, we followed the exodus of nine states from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC, driven by baseless conspiracy theories. The states which left are finding it hard and expensive to replace ERIC’s expertise.   At least one state wants back in.

ERIC, then a 31-state cooperative founded in 2012, finds duplicate, deceased and moving voters.  In 2022, conservative conspiracy theorists claimed ERIC was controlled by liberal billionaire George Soros.  Election deniers pressured election officials and legislators in Alabama, Florida, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Ohio, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia, who caved and pulled out of ERIC.  

Then came the hangover.  Great reporting by the Center for Public Integrity and Votebeat shows states buying more expensive data services, creating their own, or entering into agreements with nearby states.  

EagleAI, a service pushed by the same conspiracy theorists, compares publicly-available information like death notices, but reportedly had false positives and security issues.  Texas created its own system, which Votebeat reported costs as much as ERIC, but exchanges less data with fewer states.  Virginia paid a private data processing company, which rented outside data lists.  Some states agreed to exchange data, but Votebeat reporting suggests the lists are cleaned less often. 

BallotPedia reports that the Virginia legislature is considering returning the state to the ERIC cooperative, while California and Hawaii are considering joining.  

We have links to more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.  I’m Brian Beihl

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
NPR – (2023) How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud
Democracy Docket – Cleta Mitchell Couldn’t Overturn the 2020 Election, So Now She’s Suppressing Voters
American Oversight – AMERICAN OVERSIGHT RELEASES REPORT ON ANTI-ERIC PUSH AND ITS THREAT TO 2024 ELECTION 
Votebeat via Louisiana Illuminator – Documents show Republican-led states struggling to clean voter rolls after leaving ERIC
Center for Public Integrity – States ditched an election partnership. Voters will feel the consequences.
BallotPedia – 2024 Voter list maintenance legislation

Groups Taking Action:
Brennan Center for Justice, Campaign Legal Center, ACLU Ohio, League of Women Voters

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE!  

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ERIC #ElectionIntegrity #ConspiracyTheories #ElectionDeniers

The post After Caving to Conspiracy Theorists, States Which Left ERIC Now Using  Weaker & More Expensive Alternatives; At Least One State May Rejoin ERIC. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

American Democracy Minute Radio Report & Podcast for Aug. 23, 2023

Today’s Script

(Variations occur with audio due to editing for time. Today’s Links below the script)

You’re listening to the American Democracy Minute, keeping YOUR government by and for the people.

Nine conservative-leaning states have pulled out of ERIC, a cooperative of states which uses advanced computer matching to keep voter rolls clean.  Now, a group of GOP activists is launching its own system called EagleAI NETwork and pitching it to counties and states – and for use by activists in “challenging” voter eligibility.

NBC News and the Atlanta Journal Constitution, tipped off by video presentations to GOP activists obtained by watchdog Documented, reported that the rollout of the effort is being aided by former Trump election lawyer Cleta Mitchell.  NPR reported that Mitchell helped seed doubt and encouraged states to pull out of ERIC.  As we’ve reported, Mitchell’s Election Integrity Network and other conservative groups have lobbied state legislatures like North Carolina’s to aggressively pass laws allowing more poll observers, public access to voter information, and a loosening of rules allowing challenges to voter eligibility.   

The founders of the EagleAI NETwork, spelled EagleA-I, were recorded pitching the system to activists, specifically mentioning that the system would flag eligibility of voters at homeless shelters and nursing homes, according to NBC. 

One of EagleAI’s founders says the group is in talks with Georgia counties.  In a statement to NBC News, Georgia Election Director Blake Evans said, “Eagle AI data offers zero additional value to Georgia’s existing list maintenance procedures.”

We’ve linked our sources at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org.   I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
NBC News – Inside the right’s effort to build a voter fraud hunting tool
NPR – How the far right tore apart one of the best tools to fight voter fraud

New Brunswick News/Atlanta Journal Constitution – Georgia company EagleAI pursues multistate voter registration cancellations
Documented – Meet “Eagle AI,” the Cleta Mitchell-Backed MAGA Mass Voter Challenge Program
Campaign Legal Center – What Is ERIC, and Why Is It Critical for Our Democracy?

Groups Taking Action:

Issue One, Common Cause Georgia, Center for Election Innovation & Research, Protect Democracy

Please follow us on Facebook and Twitter and SHARE! 
Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org
Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!
#Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #FreedomtoVote

The post GOP Activists Are Pitching an Alternative to ERIC for Voter List Maintenance. But it Could Also Be Used for Voter Suppression. appeared first on American Democracy Minute.