(Editorial - Graphic Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

As West Virginia state officials have been doing for several years now, Secretary of State Kris Warner pushed back against federal overreach this week when he announced the Mountain State will not volunteer the release of personally identifying information of every registered West Virginian to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Warner said the Department of Justice has sent requests to almost every state seeking registered voters’ information such as ID numbers, Social Security numbers and other identifying information. His office was having none of it.

“West Virginians entrust me with their sensitive personal information. Turning it over to the federal government, which is contrary to State law, will simply not happen,” Warner said. “State law is clear: voter lists are available in a redacted format from my office, but I’ll not be turning over any West Virginian’s protected information.”

Further, Warner rightly pointed out that information is already in good hands — the proper hands — as county and state elections officials have done an excellent job securing our elections.

“The DOJ claims it wants to enforce voter list maintenance laws and receiving West Virginians’ personal information is the way to do it,” Warner said. “I dare say that the DOJ cannot do a better job than the 55 West Virginia county clerks who have accomplished the herculean task of refreshing more than half of the State’s voter rolls over the last 9 years, and continue to do so on a daily basis.”

This is exactly the kind of resistance to overreaching federal pressure West Virginians want to see from our elected officials.

“My responsibility is first and foremost to the citizens of West Virginia,” Warner said. And “I will not break the law, give up our State’s rights, or compromise the privacy of our citizens.”

Surely his resolve will inspire other elected officials to strengthen their own determination to fulfill their responsibility to US.