Morrisey signed onto a friend-of-the-court brief March 10 supporting a process used in Ohio, West Virginia and 11 other states.
“Keeping the state’s voter registry up to date is crucial to ensuring the integrity of our elections,” Morrisey said in a statement. “The process used in West Virginia and Ohio is important to that effort and fully consistent with federal law.
"We support this effort to make sure our Secretary of State has the tools he needs to maintain free and fair elections.”
West Virginia law requires counties to mail a confirmation notice to those persons who have not voted in any election during the preceding four calendar years. This procedure is aimed at keeping the voter rolls up to date by identifying those who may have moved without filing a forwarding address, among other reasons.
“West Virginians demand our election officials make every effort to achieve clean and accurate elections, and that begins with an updated voter registration file," Warner said. "I am thrilled West Virginia will join nearly a dozen states who are fighting for accurate voter rolls. We are united in supporting my friend, Secretary Husted, in following the laws that provide clean elections."
The brief, filed March 10 by nine states including West Virginia, supports Ohio’s petition for Supreme Court review of a 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which struck down a similar law in Ohio. The states contend it misinterprets federal law and creates a risk of costly litigation for states that follow this method of maintaining voter lists.
West Virginia joined the Georgia-led brief along with attorneys general from Alaska, Idaho, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, Tennessee and Texas.