RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- As of Thursday, Virginia has rejoined a bipartisan, multi-state group that helps maintain voter rolls. Election officials say this move will help ensure only eligible voters can cast ballots in the Commonwealth's elections. On Thursday, April 30, the Virginia Department of E lections (ELECT) announced that the state has officially rejoined the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), bringing its total membership to 27 states. ERIC was formed in 2012, with Virginia as one of its founding members. It is a nonprofit, bipartisan election data compact that serves as a "critical tool in conducting voter list maintenance," according to a press release from ELECT. "Rejoining ERIC provides Virginia election administrators with access to this essential multistate information that will help ensure that only eligible Virginians can vote in the Commonwealth," ELECT said. Richmond police sergeant gave license plate camera data to FBI, violating policy Former governor Glenn Youngkin (R) pulled Virginia out of ERIC in May 2023 following a wave of far-right conspiracy theories and pressure from then-former president Donald Trump. Three years later and shortly into her term, on March 24, Gov. Abigail Spanberger (D) issued an executive order directing Virginia to reenter ERIC. She also signed two bills directing Virginia to both reenter and remain in good standing with ERIC. In her executive order, Spanberger criticized her predecessor's decision, saying that Youngkin's choice to leave ERIC made election administrators' jobs harder. Without ERIC, it was more difficult for Virginia election officials to determine if voters had moved out of state, died or updated their contact information, or if they may have duplicate registrations, she said. “Accurate, fair, open and secure elections start with up-to-date voter rolls,” said Commissioner of Elections Steven Koski in the release. “In addition to maintaining our existing state-to-state data sharing agreements, rejoining ERIC will give Virginia access to a key source of information that will bolster our comprehensive voter list maintenance processes.” ...read more read less