The best tool election officials have to maintain accurate voter records and detect illegal voting has been targeted in a state bill regarding voter registration data and security concerns, Summit County Clerk Eve Furse told the County Council this week.
The state has used the Electronic Registration Information Center, commonly known as ERIC, among election officials for years. The national nonprofit and nonpartisan organization maintains accurate voter rolls to help detect illegal voting in addition to assisting states with voter registration, Furse said.
House Bill 332, sponsored by Rep. Karianne Lisonbee of Davis County, would require the Lieutenant Governor’s Office to withdraw from ERIC by July 6, citing concerns over voter registration data and security. Several Republican states have left ERIC in recent years over what critics have called inaccurate conspiracy theories fomented by 2020 election deniers.
“It’s a really important service that helps keep our voter rolls accurate, and the alternatives are just not there,” Furse said. “There is no other service that has even close to that number of states involved, and the idea of individually negotiating a deal with other states is not really possible to the same effect.”
Data transfers between the Clerk’s Office and ERIC use high-level encryptions at every stage of the process, Furse explained. It provides valuable services to counties that would be difficult for the Clerk’s Office to undertake independently, such as notifications that a voter previously registered in Summit County has moved and registered in another state.
“There have been a number of states that have left ERIC in recent years, mostly from the Republican side of the spectrum,” Furse said. “I think there’s a discomfort for Utah as a Republican state remaining in ERIC, and the purported reason is that there is concern about how ERIC is using the data, particularly because there are concerns about [whether] they are using the data to encourage people to register to vote who maybe don’t have a right to vote.”
An exception was made for Utah in 2023, however, and the state is not required to share or accept data related to voter outreach.
“We are literally just using it as a voter maintenance tool, and it is the best one we have,” Furse said.
Furse also advocated for Senate Bill 127 at the County Council meeting. The bill would extend the ranked choice voting pilot program for 10 more years.
Three municipalities in Summit County — Park City, Coalville and Oakley — are exploring ranked choice voting as an option this year. The deadline for selecting ranked choice voting is May 1.
In addition to the election bills, Deputy County Manager Janna Young brought up H.B. 355, which is sponsored by Rep. Casey Snider of Cache County.
“This is not a new issue. This bill has probably come up the last two legislative sessions but has been defeated,” Young said. “It would essentially prohibit this ban that is in Salt Lake County on new mines in the Wasatch Mountains, which would ultimately greenlight this proposed mine in Parley’s Canyon, which is something we have been looking at.”
Salt Lake County is actively working with lawmakers on the bill. The county’s legislative task force is monitoring its progress and any changes that may arise, Young said.
“When you talk to Rep. Snider, he talks about how there’s all this growth in the state and we don’t have the materials we need to build the infrastructure to support that growth and certainly it would be best if we could find a way to produce it locally,” she added. “Obviously, counties and cities just have concerns about a blanket authorization of these mines being able to set up anywhere in their jurisdictions unregulated, so I think there’s a way to strike that balance, and that’s what the entities are trying to do.”
Summit County Treasurer Corrie Forsling also drew county officials’ attention to S.B. 197, sponsored by Sen. Daniel McCay, who represents parts of Salt Lake and Utah counties. The bill would repeal the homeowner credit, also known as the circuit breaker program, and replace it with a tax deferral.
“This homeowner credit is actually a great option for individuals who, I believe, have to be 66 years of age or older with an annual income of $40,000 who really need this tax relief in order to stay in their homes,” Young explained. “There’s a concern because we know of many residents in Summit County that utilize this program and don’t necessarily believe a deferral is the best policy option because it only really saddles heirs who then get that property with the tax burden.”
The County Council will continue to work with the legislative task force to coordinate the county’s position on proposed bills. Young will provide updates each Wednesday throughout the general session, which ends on March 7.