SAINT PAUL — Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon’s Elections Director, Gary Poser, has been selected to be the new Chair of a multi-state consortium aimed at improving the accuracy of state voter rolls and increasing outreach to unregistered voters.
Poser was voted unanimously today to be the Chair of the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC) at its annual Board of Directors meeting in Washington, D.C. Poser previously served on the board of ERIC. ERIC provides Minnesota election officials with information derived from comparisons of Minnesota’s voter rolls to Minnesota’s driver’s license database, the Social Security Administration’s death information, and other states’ voter rolls.
“This is a great opportunity for Gary and for Minnesota to lead a national effort to improve state voter rolls and continue to protect the integrity of our nation’s elections,” said Minnesota Secretary of State Steve Simon. “I’m incredibly proud of Gary for his hard work and dedication, and know that he will continue to establish Minnesota as a national leader in election reform and administration.”
Minnesota became an official ERIC member on August 1, 2014, after legislation passed during the 2014 legislation session that gave Minnesota permission to join the organization.
Currently, Washington, D.C. and 11 states are members of ERIC: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.
“We know that Gary is going to do a phenomenal job as Chair of ERIC and we look forward to his leadership as we continue working with states across the country to update and improve state voter rolls,” said ERIC Executive Director John Lindback.
The Office of the Secretary of State provides counties with information from ERIC to help them better identify and eliminate duplicate, deceased, and out-of-state voter records. ERIC also helps to update records for voters who moved in-state, and clean up clerical errors on voter registration records. ERIC member states are required to send a mailing to voting-age Minnesotans with driver’s licenses or state IDs, who, according to the computer match, do not appear to be registered to vote.
Poser has also served for the last year as President of the National Association of State Elections Directors (NASED), which promotes accurate and transparent elections in the United States. His term ends today.
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Contact: Ryan Furlong, (651) 297-8919, ryan.furlong@state.mn.us