evidence: Mr. Election Integrity himself joined a handful of other Republican states in abruptly quitting an anti-voter fraud initiative (recently scorched by far right conspiracy cranks) that he praised as "one of the best fraud-fighting tools that we have" last month. The bipartisan network of over 30 member states, operating in relative obscurity for over a decade, shares a sophisticated and secure voter database called the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC for short. [...] Early last year, fringe conservative media began a sustained misinformation attack against ERIC, falsely painting it as part of a liberal conspiracy to steal elections. The deception was fanned by an ex-president awaiting indictment for pick-a-crime. Out of nowhere, the little known association — with a demonstrable record of fighting actual voter fraud — was hit with a torrent of false online claims of being a voter registration vehicle for Democrats funded by George Soros, the liberal billionaire/philanthropist MAGA conspiracists blame for everything.