West Virginia is one of the many states to receive a threatening letter from the U.S. Department of Justice over federal efforts to gain access to private voter data and election records.
Thirty states, including West Virginia, have faced U.S. Department of Justice lawsuits over voter records. The letters sent this month ordered states officials to preserve all 2024 election files under a “litigation hold” or risk criminal sanctions.
West Virginia’s letter was addressed to Kris Warner, the Republican secretary of state. It was also copied to Michael Williams, West Virginia’s solicitor general who has been representing the state in litigation over voter records.
“We represent the United States in enforcing your duties as the chief election officer of the State of West Virginia under the Civil Rights Act of 1960,” wrote Eric Neff, acting chief of the Voting Section of DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, in a Sept. 4 letter obtained this week by West Virginia MetroNews.
“As you are aware, you are currently under investigation and ongoing litigation as to the extent to which you have failed to comply with your duties under the CRA as well as the National Voter Registration Act,” Neff wrote, also referring to the Help America Vote Act of 2002.
The letter explicitly demands the preservation of all records related to the 2024 election, including both physical documents and electronically stored information. The letter contends the obligations supersede standard disposal timelines.
“Your failure to preserve relevant data may constitute spoliation of evidence, which may subject you to civil and criminal sanctions,” the letter reads.
At least 30 top election officials across the country received such letters.
“This new round of threatening letters to the states is just the latest example of the Department of Justice doubling down on Donald Trump’s big lie that the 2020 election was stolen and using these baseless claims to justify their unlawful data grab,” said Julie Archer, the election and campaign finance reform lead for West Virginia Citizen Action Group.
“Their aggressive pursuit of private voter and election records only sows mistrust in transparent, accurate processes and discourages voters from participating. Their demands regarding records retention are unnecessary and an insult to the work election officials do in West Virginia to thoroughly review and verify our election results.”
The Department of Justice has sued 30 different states, including West Virginia, to obtain voters’ personal, private information.
Of those, DOJ has lost 23 district court cases and won none.
The upshot is that no federal judge has granted DOJ access to voter files in any of the 30 states the agency is suing.
Justice Department spokeswoman Kiersten Pels confirmed to The New York Times that the agency sent the demand letters out to all 30 of “the states we are in active litigation against.”
In West Virginia, U.S. District Judge Thomas Johnston, a George W. Bush appointee, entered an order in July to dismiss DOJ’s demands for unredacted voter data.
As in other states, the Department of Justice was asking the federal court to compel West Virginia officials to release the list that would include state voters’ information like birth dates, residential addresses, drivers license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
The Department of Justice has sought the unredacted voter data under the Civil Rights Act of 1960, claiming a need to monitor state compliance with federal election laws.
This week, lawyers for the justice department filed a notice of appeal to the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the multi-state district that includes West Virginia.
The Department of Justice has not yet specified the basis of its appeal of the West Virginia case. The West Virginia Secretary of State’s Office has not yet responded to the appeal or to the latest letter.
As in other states, the Department of Justice was asking the federal court to compel West Virginia officials to release the list that would include state voters’ information like birth dates, residential addresses, drivers license numbers and partial Social Security numbers.
The Department of Justice sent similar letters to the top election officials in all 50 states in July, contending that officials could face criminal prosecution if noncitizens vote.
Following the distribution of the latest letters, Utah Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson a Republican official named in the DOJ’s lawsuit for that state’s voter records, posted on social media that she wasn’t aware that her state was under investigation.
“It would be nice if the good folks at the DOJ would focus on actual problems instead of baselessly harassing election officials,” Henderson posted.
The Justice Department has warned Lt. Gov. Deidre Henderson that she is under investigation for not complying with the Trump administration’s demands for voter information. Meanwhile, Henderson has weighed in on Trump’s vote-by-mail clampdown before the… https://t.co/sSVCnGpK2C
— The Salt Lake Tribune (@sltrib) September 10, 2026