CHARLESTON, WV (LOOTPRESS) — The United States Department of Justice has filed a federal lawsuit against West Virginia Secretary of State Kris Warner, alleging the state failed to comply with federal election law by refusing to provide requested voter registration records.
According to the complaint filed February 26, 2026, in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia, the DOJ says Warner declined to turn over the state’s full computerized voter registration list despite a formal request from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office.
Federal law — including the Civil Rights Act of 1960, the National Voter Registration Act (NVRA), and the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) — requires election officials to maintain and preserve records related to voter registration and make them available for inspection when requested by the Attorney General.
The DOJ first requested West Virginia’s statewide voter registration list on September 8, 2025, seeking access to all data fields, including:
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Full names
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Dates of birth
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Addresses
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Driver’s license numbers or identifying information
Federal officials said the request was part of an investigation into whether West Virginia is properly maintaining accurate voter rolls as required by law.
State officials declined to provide the full dataset in September 2025 and again in February 2026, prompting the federal government to take legal action.
The lawsuit argues that Warner’s refusal violates Title III of the Civil Rights Act, which mandates election officials preserve and provide records tied to federal elections for at least 22 months after an election.
The DOJ is now asking the court to:
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Declare the refusal unlawful
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Order West Virginia to turn over the full voter registration list
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Require production of additional election records if needed
Federal officials say the records are necessary to evaluate compliance with laws designed to ensure voter rolls are accurate and up to date.
If granted, the court order would require the state to provide the requested records within five days.
