West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner announced that the state will not be providing personal information of registered voters to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The DOJ had requested election records from nearly all states, which included detailed voter registration lists containing sensitive data such as driver’s licenses, dates of birth, addresses, and Social Security numbers.
In response to this request, Warner sent a letter to the DOJ stating that the cited statutes by federal officials do not mandate compliance and that state laws are designed to protect the sensitive information of its voters. “West Virginians entrust me with their sensitive personal information. Turning it over to the federal government, which is contrary to state law, will simply not happen,” Warner stated. He clarified that while voter lists can be obtained in a redacted format, no protected information will be shared.
This stance comes amid a broader context where the federal government has initiated legal action against over 20 states and Washington, D.C., for their refusals to release voter files. Recently, a federal judge in Michigan dismissed a lawsuit that challenged compliance, stating that there is no federal law that grants the DOJ the authority to demand unredacted voter registration files.
Warner emphasized that the DOJ’s claim that it needs personal information to enforce voter list maintenance laws is unfounded, asserting that the 55 county clerks in West Virginia have effectively managed the task of updating voter rolls. Currently, the state has 1,195,305 registered voters, and since 2017, over 400,000 outdated, abandoned, or ineligible registration records have been lawfully canceled. Additionally, more than 350,000 new registrations have been added over the past nine years.
The decision by Secretary Warner showcases West Virginia’s commitment to safeguarding voter privacy while maintaining accurate electoral rolls, reflecting a proactive approach to managing voter registration at the state level.