To the editor,
It was refreshing to hear the news that Kris Warner, the WV Secretary of State, has refused to share the personal information of registered West Virginia voters with the Federal government.
As of February 4th, Secretary Warner has received two demands from the U.S. Department of Justice to turn over the names, dates of birth, residential addresses, driver’s license numbers, and last four digits of social security numbers of all registered WV voters. In response, Mr. Warner has rightly pointed out that the U.S. Constitution explicitly places responsibility for elections with the individual states, not the federal government. I applaud this action.
His decision is a welcome respite from the news of the current state legislative session. There seems to be a monotonous scurry of Republicans in Charleston to move backwards. They are loosening health-protecting environmental regulations. They are failing to provide adequate support for public schools, foster children, addiction services, reproductive health. They have removed local decision-making for placement of data-centers. They have big smiles as they assist the powerful, not regular citizens.
Mimi Kibler
Parsons
