Voting & Elections

“We are seeing the strong effect of President Trump’s big lie. We are seeing the Republican Party go all-in on supporting him and his lies,” said Sylvia Albert, voting and elections director for Common Cause, which advocates for expanded voter access. “We are seeing them use this opportunity to create deliberate barriers to voting for Black and brown voters. It’s un-American.

A separate federal suit filed in Tallahassee by the NAACP and Common Cause also says the law targets people who are Black, Latino or disabled. “For far too long, Florida’s lawmakers and elected officials have created a vast array of hurdles that have made it more difficult for these and other voters to make their voices heard,” these groups said.

"Florida's Republican legislative leaders seem determined to weaken the system that voters have relied on, without significant problems, for the better part of a generation," Sylvia Albert, voting and elections director for good-government watchdog Common Cause, said in a statement on April 28 after Florida's House passed the bill.

While sharing voter information may result in more updated voter lists, Georgia election officials shouldn't overly rely on the flood of data from ERIC to "weaponize" voter registrations cancellations, said Aunna Dennis, executive director for Common Cause Georgia, a government accountability organization. "I just hope our secretary of state uses it correctly and makes sure that voters have received information from notifications if they've moved," Dennis said. "It's a good system for checking registrations if the secretary of state's office uses it properly."