The Trump administration has filed federal lawsuits against West Virginia and four other states that have refused to turn over voter registration records, including voters’ sensitive personal information.
The Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice announced the lawsuits against West Virginia, Utah, Oklahoma, Kentucky and New Jersey in a news release Thursday. The department is suing a total of 29 states for refusing to produce the voting records as the federal agency investigates claims of voter fraud.
The lawsuit against West Virginia names Secretary of State Kris Warner in his official capacity.
“Accurate, well-maintained voter rolls are a requisite for the election integrity that the American people deserve,” U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said in the release. “This latest series of litigation underscores that This Department of Justice is fulfilling its duty to ensure transparency, voter roll maintenance, and secure elections across the country.”
The lawsuits argue that the attorney general has authority to request election records under the Civil Rights Act of 1960. The law allows her “to demand the production, inspection, and analysis of statewide voter registration lists that can be cross-checked effectively for improper registrations,” the news release said.
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office has twice refused requests from the Department of Justice that the state turn over voter registration information, including names, dates of birth, addresses, driver’s license numbers or the last four digits of social security numbers.
The most recent refusal was in a Feb. 11 letter from David Cook, general counsel for the Secretary of State’s Office.
“West Virginia law protects the sensitive personally identifiable information of its voters, and the Secretary of State takes seriously his responsibility to safeguard such information from unauthorized disclosure,” Cook wrote. “Nothing in the interim has altered our position.”
Cook wrote that the state has nearly 1.2 million registered voters and that the Secretary of State’s Office has legally cancelled more than 408,000 voter registration records since 2017. He offered to provide a detailed narrative of the office’s voter list maintenance procedures.
“The Secretary of State respects your position in this matter and remains willing to work with the DOJ to reach an amicable resolution within the limits of state and federal law,” Cook wrote. “As set forth in our prior correspondence, the WVSOS makes voter registration lists available subject to the statutory limitations set forth above.”
In a news release, assistant attorney general Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division wrote that the Justice Department would continue to fulfill its oversight role wherever Americans vote in federal elections.
“Many state election officials, however, are choosing to fight us in court rather than show their work,” Dhillon wrote. “We will not be deterred, regardless of party affiliation, from carrying out critical election integrity legal duties.”
The West Virginia Secretary of State’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit.
This article originally appeared on West Virginia Watch.
West Virginia Watch is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. West Virginia Watch maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Leann Ray for questions: info@westvirginiawatch.com.
