Washington State Bans Federal Access to Voter Data

0:00Washington State just passed a new law that makes it a class C felony for anyone except the Secretary of State to hand over voter registration data, too. The federal government, Secretary of State Steve Hopps pushed for this bill after repeated requests from the Department of Justice, which he's turned down over privacy, worries and legal protections. The Justice Department first asked for the data back in September as part of a push to check election systems nationwide for ineligible voters. Officials say it's all about enforcing election laws through the Civil Rights Division. Governor Jay Inslee and Hobbes both praised the move, calling it a smart way to safeguard state info amid what they see as federal overreach. Hobbes, as the top elections official, stress keeping the process secure and transparent. Meanwhile, the feds have sued election leaders in states like Maryland, Delaware, New Mexico, Rhode Island and Vermont over similar refusals. But Oklahoma's attorney general just agreed to release its data to drop a federal lawsuit against them.

1:03State leaders here remain confident they'd win any court fight, pointing to their strong track record against the administration on these issues. This law sets a clear line for protecting voter privacy moving forward. Vancouver News today, powered by AI Bringing You A Matters. I'm Cory with the story.