Secretary of State Responds To Latest DOJ Letter About Voter Records

Secretary of State Kris Warner is maintaining his position to not share voter rolls with the federal government, despite new threats of legal action.  

In February, the U.S. Department of Justice announced a lawsuit against West Virginia and four other states — Kentucky, Oklahoma, New Jersey and Utah — for not providing their full voter registration lists after two formal requests in Sept. 2025 and again in February. 

Warner has maintained that state law does not allow him to fulfill such a request, telling West Virginia Public Broadcasting in February “if the DOJ wants the list, they can purchase it like anyone else, but it’s not going to have personal information on it.” 

Tuesday Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice sent Warner and chief election officers in other states a letter purporting to be “a notice of federal laws applicable to state and local election officials to ensure free, fair, and transparent elections.” 

The letter specifies that officials must ensure only U.S. citizens vote and warns that the DOJ is authorized to prosecute criminal violations of such laws.  

“In conclusion, any election officer, including the chief election officer of the state, who knowingly retains noncitizens on the state’s SVRL ((state voter registration list) or facilitates noncitizens in receiving and casting ballots could be subject to criminal liability,” Dhillon wrote. “An intentional act that is aimed at diluting the votes of citizens could also constitute a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 241, which makes it unlawful for two or more persons to conspire to injure any person in the exercise of that person’s constitutional rights. We encourage you to contact us to discuss what steps your state should take to maintain clean voter lists as required by law.” 

In a reply sent Thursday, Warner outlined all state laws and procedures that ensure free, fair, and transparent elections. He said his office is unaware of any evidence of noncitizens on its voter rolls, and requests that the DOJ share any credible information that warrants investigation. 

“The Secretary of State’s office welcomes continued cooperation with the Civil Rights Division in furtherance of our shared objective of protecting election integrity while ensuring that all eligible citizens are able to exercise their fundamental right to vote,” Warner wrote.  

The letter concludes by restating that West Virginia law prohibits the disclosure of personally identifiable information contained in the state’s voter registration records. 

“However, as noted in our prior correspondence, West Virginia law prohibits the disclosure of sensitive personally identifiable information contained in voter registration records,” Warner wrote.